--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Utter originality is, of course, out of…" description: "\"Utter originality is, of course, out of the question.\" — Ezra Pound" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png" --- # Utter originality is, of course, out of the question. ![“Utter originality is, of course, out of the question.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png) > “Utter originality is, of course, out of the question.” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True originality is impossible; all ideas build on prior work. **In simple terms:** Utter originality is impossible. Key Takeaway Accept influence, seek innovation. Themes creativity originality influence Mood thoughtful inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing - artistic creation - research - product development Key Concepts philosophy literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance influence and novelty? - What defines true originality? A Different Perspective Original works can still be groundbreaking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Course Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course-question-4683936/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Originality Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality-course-4683935/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Utter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utter/) [Utter Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utter-originality-4683934/) ## Related quotes > [Originality, of course, is what occurs when something new arises out of what's already been done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/originality-of-course-is-what-occurs-when-something-new-arises-out-of/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [Metaphor lives a secret life all around us. We utter about six metaphors a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/metaphor-lives-a-secret-life-all-around-us-we-utter-about-six/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [It seems, by today's standards, that it's better to seek approval than to tell the truth. It's better to utter sweet nothings than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/it-seems-by-today-s-standards-that-it-s-better-to-seek-approval-than/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [After the first International Days of Protest in October, 1965, Senator Mansfield criticized the 'sense of utter irresponsibility' shown by the demonstrators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/after-the-first-international-days-of-protest-in-october-1965-senator/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My definition of utter waste is a coachload of lawyers going over a cliff, with three empty seats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-hunt/my-definition-of-utter-waste-is-a-coachload-of-lawyers-going-over-a/) [Lamar Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-hunt/) > [The paleo diet is utter nonsense - it is such pseudoscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/the-paleo-diet-is-utter-nonsense-it-is-such-pseudoscience/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [It's a little difficult when something goes from being an utter obsession - a thing where your skill defines you as a person -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-chazelle/it-s-a-little-difficult-when-something-goes-from-being-an-utter/) [Damien Chazelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-chazelle/) > [A seventeenth-century house can be recognized by its steep roof, massive central chimney and utter porchlessness. Some of those houses have a second-story overhang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/a-seventeenth-century-house-can-be-recognized-by-its-steep-roof/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I've always been a campaigner, ever since I was a child. It sounds like an utter clich but it's in my DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-pearson/i-ve-always-been-a-campaigner-ever-since-i-was-a-child-it-sounds-like/) [Adam Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-pearson/) > [We have experienced an utter explosion in investigative techniques. Walk the streets, look at the cameras! They are now recognising people automatically from photos;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/we-have-experienced-an-utter-explosion-in-investigative-techniques/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [The fact that an icon would even utter my name or have any idea of who I am is absolutely unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-wagner/the-fact-that-an-icon-would-even-utter-my-name-or-have-any-idea-of/) [Ashley Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-wagner/) > [Music is 10% exhilaration and 90% utter disappointment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrow/music-is-10-exhilaration-and-90-utter-disappointment/) [John Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrow/) > [I've never really suffered complete and utter writer's block, really. I equate it with sex: in the beginning of my career, I was writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loudon-wainwright-iii/i-ve-never-really-suffered-complete-and-utter-writer-s-block-really-i/) [Loudon Wainwright III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loudon-wainwright-iii/) > [Being asked to play 'The Doctor' is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/being-asked-to-play-the-doctor-is-an-amazing-privilege-like-the/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [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/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [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/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Utter originality is, of course, out of the question.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Pound" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-the-question/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-the-question/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/ezra-pound-1208_creativity_utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-th_2988570.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Utter originality is, of course, out of the question.” — Ezra Pound", "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": "Ezra Pound", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Utter originality is, of course, out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-the-question/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/utter-originality-is-of-course-out-of-the-question/#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 } } ] } ```