--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if great poetry continues to be…" description: "\"Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has retreated from the center of literary life. Though supported by a loyal coterie, poetry has lost t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png" --- # Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has… ![“Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has retreated from the center of literary life. Though supported by a loyal coterie, poetry has lost the confidence that it speaks to and for the general culture.” quote by Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png) > “Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has retreated from the center of literary life. Though supported by a loyal coterie, poetry has lost the confidence that it speaks to and for the general culture.” [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry has become marginal, appreciated mainly by a small, dedicated audience, losing its broader cultural relevance. **In simple terms:** Poetry is now niche, not central to culture. Key Takeaway Recognize poetry's limited reach and seek new platforms. Themes culture art literature marginality audience Mood reflective critical Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - academic curricula - public readings - media coverage - educational policy Key Concepts cultural shift elitism public engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can poetry reconnect with mainstream audiences? - What new media could revitalize poetry? A Different Perspective Poetry still influences culture in subtle ways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coterie Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coterie-poetry-246817/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Great poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-poet/) [Great poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-poetry/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Loyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyal/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Continues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-continues-246819/) [Poetry Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-lost-246816/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Retreated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-retreated-246818/) ## Related quotes > [There are few greater treasures to be acquired in youth than great poetry-and prose-stored in the memory. At the time one may resent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-livingstone/there-are-few-greater-treasures-to-be-acquired-in-youth-than-great/) [Richard Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-livingstone/) > [I'm not a great poetry fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-everett/i-m-not-a-great-poetry-fan/) [Rupert Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-everett/) > [Because science flourishes, must poesy decline? The complaint serves but to betray the weakness of the class who urge it. True, in an age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-miller/because-science-flourishes-must-poesy-decline-the-complaint-serves/) [Hugh Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-miller/) > [As a fairly innocent teenager, growing up in a village in Wales, I just thought, "God, I would like to go and hang about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/as-a-fairly-innocent-teenager-growing-up-in-a-village-in-wales-i-just/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [I think that great poetry is the most interesting and complex use of the poet's language at that point in history, and so it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-think-that-great-poetry-is-the-most-interesting-and-complex-use-of/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [The most beautiful conception of immortality of which I know, and certainly one that by contrast shows the utter vulgarity of Christian ideas, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/the-most-beautiful-conception-of-immortality-of-which-i-know-and/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [Poetry is not a civilizer, rather the reverse, for great poetry appeals to the most primitive instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/poetry-is-not-a-civilizer-rather-the-reverse-for-great-poetry-appeals/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [There's great poetry in the Old Testament and the New Testament. And I'm not interested in trying to prove whether this paragraph is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/there-s-great-poetry-in-the-old-testament-and-the-new-testament-and-i/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [A great emotion is too selfish ; it takes into itself all the blood of the spirit, and the congestion leaves the hands too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-great-emotion-is-too-selfish-it-takes-into-itself-all-the-blood-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [All great poetry is dipped in the dyes of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/all-great-poetry-is-dipped-in-the-dyes-of-the-heart/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The more serious poetry of the race has a philosophical structure of thought. It contains beliefs and conceptions in regard to the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-alexander-leighton/the-more-serious-poetry-of-the-race-has-a-philosophical-structure-of/) [Joseph Alexander Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-alexander-leighton/) > [A visual experience is vitalizing. Whereas to write great poetry, to draw continuously on one's inner life, is not merely exhausting, it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/a-visual-experience-is-vitalizing-whereas-to-write-great-poetry-to/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Michel Aflaq - is bad poetry wrapped in the guise of utopian politics, or great poetry wrapped in the guise of horrible politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/michel-aflaq-is-bad-poetry-wrapped-in-the-guise-of-utopian-politics/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Shakespeare wrote great poetry and preposterous plays. Who really cares, for example, which petty tyrant rules Milan? Or who succeeds to the throne of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/shakespeare-wrote-great-poetry-and-preposterous-plays-who-really/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [... what is great poetry, after all, but the continuation of the human voice after death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/what-is-great-poetry-after-all-but-the-continuation-of-the-human/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More by Dana Gioia > [How many voices have escaped you until now, the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot, the steady accusations of the clock numbering the minutes no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/how-many-voices-have-escaped-you-until-now-the-venting-furnace-the/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [In an age of global standardization, regional voices also remind both writer and reader that no life is lived generically. If the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/in-an-age-of-global-standardization-regional-voices-also-remind-both/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“The daylight needs no praise, and so we praise it always- greater than ourselves and all the airy words we summon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-daylight-needs-no-praise-and-so-we-praise-it-always-greater-than/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“And memory insists on pining For places it never went, As if life would be happier Just by being different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/and-memory-insists-on-pining-for-places-it-never-went-as-if-life/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“Whatever the reasons, reading somehow awakens something in a kid's life that makes them take their own life more seriously and other people's lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/whatever-the-reasons-reading-somehow-awakens-something-in-a-kid-s/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“Breton considered suicide the truest art, though life seemed hardly worth the trouble to discard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/breton-considered-suicide-the-truest-art-though-life-seemed-hardly/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [The new year always brings us what we want Simply by bringing us along—to see A calendar with every day uncrossed, A field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-new-year-always-brings-us-what-we-want-simply-by-bringing-us/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Being so deeply rooted in one place and culture allows a genuine writer to experiment wildly with the material without ever losing touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/being-so-deeply-rooted-in-one-place-and-culture-allows-a-genuine/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Poetry speaks most effectively and inclusively (whether in free or formal verse) when it recognizes its connection - without apology - to its musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/poetry-speaks-most-effectively-and-inclusively-whether-in-free-or/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [It seems to me that awakening to the full potential of what your life might be - beyond the possibilities of your own family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/it-seems-to-me-that-awakening-to-the-full-potential-of-what-your-life/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“There is no human society, however isolated, that has not developed and employed poetry as a cultural practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/there-is-no-human-society-however-isolated-that-has-not-developed-and/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-purpose-of-arts-education-is-not-to-produce-more-artists-though/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“What if we had walked a different path one day, would some small incident have nudged us elsewhere the way a pebble tossed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/what-if-we-had-walked-a-different-path-one-day-would-some-small/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Poetry offers a way of understanding and expressing existence that is fundamentally different from conceptual thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/poetry-offers-a-way-of-understanding-and-expressing-existence-that-is/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Yet the stones remain less real to those who cannot name them, or read the mute syllables graven in silica. To see a red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/yet-the-stones-remain-less-real-to-those-who-cannot-name-them-or-read/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) [Explore all 47 Dana Gioia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has retreated from the center of literary life. Though supported by a loyal coterie, poetry has lost the confidence that it speaks to and for the general culture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dana Gioia" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-written-it-has-retreated-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-written-it-has-retreated-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/dana-gioia-14386_culture_even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-wri_1619174.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if great poetry continues to be written, it has retreated from the center of literary life. Though…” — Dana Gioia", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dana Gioia", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even if great poetry continues to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-written-it-has-retreated-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/even-if-great-poetry-continues-to-be-written-it-has-retreated-from/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```