--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes you get lit students that know…" description: "\"Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/elaine-equi-20309_canon_sometimes-you-get-lit-students-that-know_621307.jpg" --- # Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the… ![“Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up.” quote by Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/elaine-equi-20309_canon_sometimes-you-get-lit-students-that-know_621307.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/elaine-equi-20309_canon_sometimes-you-get-lit-students-that-know_621307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/elaine-equi-20309_canon_sometimes-you-get-lit-students-that-know_621307.jpg) > “Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up.” [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing deep knowledge of classic literature with modern poetry creates a richer, more versatile perspective. **In simple terms:** Mixing old and new poetry broadens insight. Key Takeaway Blend classic and contemporary works. Themes literature education diversity Mood curious reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - literary workshops - personal reading habits Key Concepts canon contemporary poetry pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate both canon and modern poetry in a lesson? - What benefits arise from mixing literary eras? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one side can limit appreciation of the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canon/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [“I like to mix it up. Keep things interesting." I don't say anything, because it sounds like something I'd say, and I don't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-taylor/i-like-to-mix-it-up-keep-things-interesting-i-don-t-say-anything/) [Kara Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-taylor/) > [I like to mix things up and try to get the most out of what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rabbitt/i-like-to-mix-things-up-and-try-to-get-the-most-out-of-what-i-do/) [Eddie Rabbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rabbitt/) > [I like to mix things up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-fazal/i-like-to-mix-things-up/) [Ali Fazal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-fazal/) > [“We were nobodies, two young lit. students chatting away in a rickety old house in a small town at the edge of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/we-were-nobodies-two-young-lit-students-chatting-away-in-a-rickety/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [You know, you can always pick the lit students," he continued, grinning. "Is that so? How?" "They're the ones who walk around wearing berets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-adornetto/you-know-you-can-always-pick-the-lit-students-he-continued-grinning/) [Alexandra Adornetto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-adornetto/) > [I love contemporary poetry because it moves between what we call poetry and what we call philosophy. It joins these fields and makes writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etel-adnan/i-love-contemporary-poetry-because-it-moves-between-what-we-call/) [Etel Adnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etel-adnan/) > [I think book clubs should read more contemporary poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-think-book-clubs-should-read-more-contemporary-poetry/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [contemporary poetry is a kind of Reykjavik, a place where accessibility and intelligence have been fighting a Cold War by proxy for the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/contemporary-poetry-is-a-kind-of-reykjavik-a-place-where/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his shoulders, that he is a literary aristocracy of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/every-american-poet-feels-that-the-whole-responsibility-for/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I'm reading a manuscript by Rodney Jones, "Village Prodigies",it's one of the best contemporary poetry books I've ever read ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-m-reading-a-manuscript-by-rodney-jones-village-prodigies-it-s-one/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [There has been a vast output of critical studies in contemporary poetry, some of them first rate, but I do not think that ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/there-has-been-a-vast-output-of-critical-studies-in-contemporary/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Contemporary poetry ... tries to transform the sign back into meaning: its ideal, ultimately, would be to reach not the meaning of words, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/contemporary-poetry-tries-to-transform-the-sign-back-into-meaning-its/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Anyway I read more contemporary poetry than contemporary fiction so my mind goes first to a kind of crass "conceptualism" that repeats vanguard gestures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/anyway-i-read-more-contemporary-poetry-than-contemporary-fiction-so/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [There is no access to contemporary poetry in the libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/there-is-no-access-to-contemporary-poetry-in-the-libraries/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [If you can find two poems in a book, it could be a pretty good book for you. You know, two poems you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/if-you-can-find-two-poems-in-a-book-it-could-be-a-pretty-good-book/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) ## More by Elaine Equi > [I can appreciate the idea that with e-books more people would publish, the work would be easier to disseminate, and that it could even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-can-appreciate-the-idea-that-with-e-books-more-people-would-publish/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I can never plan out what direction my poems will take in terms of either form or content. I wish I could but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-can-never-plan-out-what-direction-my-poems-will-take-in-terms-of/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [“Literary Lipsticks by Elaine Equi The Best American Poetry Red Wheelbarrow I Have Eaten the Plums Poppies in October Pink Christmas Red Weather A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/literary-lipsticks-by-elaine-equi-the-best-american-poetry-red/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [“Art is not an object, but a way of looking at an object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/art-is-not-an-object-but-a-way-of-looking-at-an-object/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-escape-into-the-visual/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I like being married to another writer. You get to trade ideas. You get to talk shop. You get to complain. You get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-like-being-married-to-another-writer-you-get-to-trade-ideas-you-get/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [In the past things were either in your head (subjective, imaginary, fantasy) or else they were part of the outside world - cold, hard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/in-the-past-things-were-either-in-your-head-subjective-imaginary/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I've always liked language and been a big reader. I always loved books as objects. My favorite time of year as a child was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-ve-always-liked-language-and-been-a-big-reader-i-always-loved-books/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. I love Joe Brainard and Aram Saroyan. And I think their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-tend-to-like-poems-that-are-short-as-well-as-funny-i-love-joe/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I never liked the philosophy that you can have everything and be everything and that something is wrong if you don't want that. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-never-liked-the-philosophy-that-you-can-have-everything-and-be/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [In a machine, every part has a function. In a poem, every word needs to be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/in-a-machine-every-part-has-a-function-in-a-poem-every-word-needs-to/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I like to look at the interface between words and pictures and wonder about which comes first, a sort of chicken-or-egg type of question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-like-to-look-at-the-interface-between-words-and-pictures-and-wonder/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-think-the-more-stability-a-person-has-the-more-they-can-follow/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I have a lot of respect for advertising. If I didn't teach and could go back in time, I might try and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-advertising-if-i-didn-t-teach-and-could/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [What I like best about teaching is that it allows me to explore my own interest with a group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/what-i-like-best-about-teaching-is-that-it-allows-me-to-explore-my/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) [Explore all 31 Elaine Equi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) ## More Canon quotes > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I am not a photographer , I am a canon owner !!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walaa-walkademagmal/i-am-not-a-photographer-i-am-a-canon-owner/) Walaa Walkademagmal > [Now, occultism is not like mystic faculty, and it very seldom works in harmony either with business aptitude in the things of ordinary life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-waite/now-occultism-is-not-like-mystic-faculty-and-it-very-seldom-works-in/) [A. E. Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-waite/) > [I don't really have a favorite camera. I use a Leica and Canon a lot. It depends, especially professionally, on the requirements. But my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/i-don-t-really-have-a-favorite-camera-i-use-a-leica-and-canon-a-lot/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [In aesthetic theory it might be extremely difficult, if not quite impracticable, to draw a line between the canon of classicism, or regard for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorstein-veblen/in-aesthetic-theory-it-might-be-extremely-difficult-if-not-quite/) [Thorstein Veblen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorstein-veblen/) > [Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-regards-the-universalizability-test-for-maxims-as-focused-on-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Canon law itself says for one case of guilt, a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state. One.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mahony/canon-law-itself-says-for-one-case-of-guilt-a-priest-can-be-dismissed/) [Roger Mahony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mahony/) > [It took two years of me telling Canon engineers that a camera is a thing between the human hand and the human eye, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-colani/it-took-two-years-of-me-telling-canon-engineers-that-a-camera-is-a/) [Luigi Colani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-colani/) > [That beautiful sister of mine was an overwhelming and volatile mixture. One had the feeling that she'd been shot from a canon and showered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bennett/that-beautiful-sister-of-mine-was-an-overwhelming-and-volatile/) [Joan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bennett/) > [People have a very proprietary relationship with Superman. It's important to respect the iconography and the canon, but at the same time, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/people-have-a-very-proprietary-relationship-with-superman-it-s/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of The Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/aspiring-writers-should-read-the-entire-canon-of-literature-that/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [Many of Judy Blume's books - which I devoured when I was growing up and where I found characters that were believable because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/many-of-judy-blume-s-books-which-i-devoured-when-i-was-growing-up-and/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [As for the multiple editions, in the case of a truly great writer - Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Proust, someone with a canon - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-thurman/as-for-the-multiple-editions-in-the-case-of-a-truly-great-writer/) [Judith Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-thurman/) > [I could name many women who travel or who work with America as a theme. I think it was more not being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-daignault/i-could-name-many-women-who-travel-or-who-work-with-america-as-a/) [Cynthia Daignault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-daignault/) > [ \[Cultural relativism\] licenses the envy of the untalented, giving rise to what has been called the revenge of failure: Those who cannot paint destroy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/cultural-relativism-licenses-the-envy-of-the-untalented-giving-rise/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) [Browse all 163 Canon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. 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