Anthology Quote by Billy Collins
“I started moving away from poets like Wallace Stevens and Hart Crane and started reading poets like, again, Karl Shapiro, Howard Nemerov, Philip Larkin, and the British poets who were imported through that important anthology put together by Alvarez - and those would include Thom Gunn and Ted Hughes. And I think these poets gave me assurance that there were other ways to write besides the rather involuted style of high modernism whose high priests were Pound, Eliot and Stevens, and Crane perhaps.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Poetry Magazine, 1998
The author shifted from complex modernist poets to more accessible ones, finding confidence in varied styles beyond high modernism.
In simple terms: Changing poets gave confidence in diverse poetic voices.
Key Takeaway
Embrace varied influences for personal growth.
Themes
poetry
literary taste
personal development
Mood
reflective
curious
Type
literary
personal development
When to use this quote
- creative writing
- academic study
- personal reflection
- teaching literature
Key Concepts
modernism
accessibility
anthology
influence
Questions to Reflect On
- How does exposure to diverse poets shape your own writing?
- What aspects of high modernism still resonate with you?
A Different Perspective
Some readers may still find modernist works valuable.
