---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So far as I am concerned, poetry and…"
description: "\"So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality.\" — e. e. cummings"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png"
---

#  So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was…

![“So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality.” quote by e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png)

> “So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality.”

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Art is fundamentally personal expression, not a universal standard.

**In simple terms:** Art reflects the individual.

Key Takeaway

Honor personal creativity.

Themes

individuality art expression

Mood

reflective introspective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal journals
- creative workshops
- art criticism
- education curricula

Key Concepts

subjectivity creativity authorship

Questions to Reflect On

- How does individuality shape your artistic voice?
- Can art be both personal and universal?

A Different Perspective

May overlook shared cultural influences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-forever-435460/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Concerned Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned-poetry-1956211/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Question Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-individuality-1581365/) [Strictly Distinctly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strictly-distinctly-4092645/)

## Related quotes

> [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [I am not concerned with Poetry. My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity. Yet these elegies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/i-am-not-concerned-with-poetry-my-subject-is-war-and-the-pity-of-war/)

[Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/)

> [In the age of the individual's liquidation, the question of individuality must be raised anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/in-the-age-of-the-individual-s-liquidation-the-question-of/)

[Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/)

> [As far as I am concerned, poetry is a statement concerning the human condition, composed in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-is-a-statement-concerning-the-human/)

[N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/)

> [Some people think or expect that you should make the same kinds of art forever because it creates a convenient narrative... I want my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/some-people-think-or-expect-that-you-should-make-the-same-kinds-of/)

[Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/)

> [Works of art often last forever, or nearly so. But exhibitions themselves, especially gallery exhibitions, are like flowers; they bloom and then they die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/works-of-art-often-last-forever-or-nearly-so-but-exhibitions/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [I want to work in art forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dasha-zhukova/i-want-to-work-in-art-forever/)

[Dasha Zhukova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dasha-zhukova/)

> [“Almost exactly five hundred years ago, a tormented soul named Michelangelo built a very narrow bridge in the middle of the air in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/almost-exactly-five-hundred-years-ago-a-tormented-soul-named/)

[Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/)

> [“Creative work bridges time because the energy of art is not time-bound. If it were we should have no interest in the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/creative-work-bridges-time-because-the-energy-of-art-is-not-time/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [A bone heals, a bruise fades, but art is forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otep-shamaya/a-bone-heals-a-bruise-fades-but-art-is-forever/)

[Otep Shamaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otep-shamaya/)

> [Art is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/art-is-forever/)

[Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/)

> [There is a way in which the collective knowledge of mankind expresses itself, for the finite individual, through mere daily living . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/there-is-a-way-in-which-the-collective-knowledge-of-mankind-expresses/)

[Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/)

> [You are no mistake. What makes you different is what makes you special, unique, original. You are a MASTERPIECE, a PIECE of the MASTER!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-w-griffin/you-are-no-mistake-what-makes-you-different-is-what-makes-you-special/)

[Kenneth W Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-w-griffin/)

> [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/)

[Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/)

> [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/)

[Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/)

## More by e. e. cummings

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-d-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-teach-ten-thousand/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [There is no music unless the drum and the drummer are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/there-is-no-music-unless-the-drum-and-the-drummer-are-one/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“...for life's not a paragraph/ and death, i think, is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/for-life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-symbol-of-all-art-is-the-prism-the-goal-is-unrealism-the-method/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [All ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/all-ignorance-toboggans-into-know-and-trudges-up-to-ignorance-again/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/it-s-spring-when-the-world-is-puddle-wonderful/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same sun moon stars rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/women-and-men-both-little-and-small-cared-for-anyone-not-at-all-they/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [O to be in finland/ now that russia's here)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/o-to-be-in-finland-now-that-russia-s-here/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world my blood approves, and kisses are a far better fate than wisdom lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/wholly-to-be-a-fool-while-spring-is-in-the-world-my-blood-approves-2/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Art is a mystery. A mystery is something immeasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/art-is-a-mystery-a-mystery-is-something-immeasurable/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/one-day-anyone-died-i-guess-and-noone-stooped-to-kiss-his-face-busy/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love (all the merry little birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/sweet-spring-is-your-time-is-my-time-is-our-time-for-springtime-is/)

[E. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

[Explore all 159 e. e. cummings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

[Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/)

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "e. e. cummings"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-is-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-is-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/e-e-cummings-2586_art_so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-ever_474442.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a…” — e. e. cummings",
                "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": "e. e. cummings",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "So far as I am concerned,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-is-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-is-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
