--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to create it is necessary to…" description: "\"In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the agent of destruction in society is the poet. I believe that the poet is necessarily an anarchist..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg" --- # In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the… ![“In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the agent of destruction in society is the poet. I believe that the poet is necessarily an anarchist, and that he must oppose all organized conceptions of the State, not only those which we inherit from the past, but equally those which are…” quote by Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg) > “In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the agent of destruction in society is the poet. I believe that the poet is necessarily an anarchist, and that he must oppose all organized conceptions of the State, not only those which we inherit from the past, but equally those which are imposed on people in the name of the future.” [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets must destroy existing structures and oppose state authority, acting as anarchists who reject all imposed orders, past or future. **In simple terms:** Poets destroy and oppose the state, acting as anarchists. Key Takeaway Embrace creative rebellion against imposed systems. Themes art anarchism political dissent creativity Mood provocative inspirational Type literary political When to use this quote - writing - protest art - education - community organizing - policy critique Key Concepts philosophy literature social critique Questions to Reflect On - Can art change society without violence? - What are the limits of anarchist critique? A Different Perspective Destruction can alienate allies and cause chaos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Anarchist Oppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist-oppose-1980641/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Destruction Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction-society-2001351/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Necessarily Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessarily-anarchist-4372557/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Society Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-poet-1844278/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [A consistent anarchist must oppose private ownership of the means of production, and the wage-slavery which is a component of this system, as incompatible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/a-consistent-anarchist-must-oppose-private-ownership-of-the-means-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [By writing... in the language of his society, a poet takes a large step toward it. It is society's job to meet him halfway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/by-writing-in-the-language-of-his-society-a-poet-takes-a-large-step/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [When they show the destruction of society on color TV, I want to be able to look out over Los Angeles and make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/when-they-show-the-destruction-of-society-on-color-tv-i-want-to-be/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Stories in which the destruction of society occurs are explorations of social fears and issues that filmmakers, novelists, playwrights, painters have been examining for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/stories-in-which-the-destruction-of-society-occurs-are-explorations/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [“It is like we are having a harvest of destruction in our society due to ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-like-we-are-having-a-harvest-of-destruction-in-our-society-due/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The term anarchism has become associated with two phenomena with which real anarchist don't want to associate themselves with. One is violence, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-term-anarchism-has-become-associated-with-two-phenomena-with/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [The modern day anarchists known as the Tea Party, they believe in no government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-modern-day-anarchists-known-as-the-tea-party-they-believe-in-no/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [Creativity comes by breaking the rules, by saying that you're in love with the anarchist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/creativity-comes-by-breaking-the-rules-by-saying-that-you-re-in-love/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [“Bruno was a musician with the temperament of an anarchist and the breath of a bartender's dishrag. He gave the lie to bookselling as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/bruno-was-a-musician-with-the-temperament-of-an-anarchist-and-the/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) ## More by Herbert Read > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [There are a few people, but a diminishing number, who still believe that Marxism, as an economic system, off era a coherent alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/there-are-a-few-people-but-a-diminishing-number-who-still-believe/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The sensitive artist knows that a bitter wind is blowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-sensitive-artist-knows-that-a-bitter-wind-is-blowing/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-slave-may-be-happy-but-happiness-is-not-enough/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The classicist, and the naturalist who has much in common with him, refuse to see in the highest works of art anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-classicist-and-the-naturalist-who-has-much-in-common-with-him/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Man is everywhere still in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/man-is-everywhere-still-in-chains/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [It does not seem that the contradiction which exists between the aristocratic function of art and the democratic structure of modern society can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-does-not-seem-that-the-contradiction-which-exists-between-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I can imagine no society which does not embody some method of arbitration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-can-imagine-no-society-which-does-not-embody-some-method-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Sensibility... is a direct and particular reaction to the separate and individual nature of things. It begins and ends with the sensuous apprehension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/sensibility-is-a-direct-and-particular-reaction-to-the-separate-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In the evolution of mankind there has always been a certain degree of social coherence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-the-evolution-of-mankind-there-has-always-been-a-certain-degree-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Modern man has been in search of a new language of form to satisfy new longings and aspirations - longings for mental appeasement, aspirations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/modern-man-has-been-in-search-of-a-new-language-of-form-to-satisfy/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I am not going to claim that modern anarchism has any direct relation to Roman jurisprudence; but I do claim that it has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-am-not-going-to-claim-that-modern-anarchism-has-any-direct-relation/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values - above personal wealth, technical power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/to-realize-that-new-world-we-must-prefer-the-values-of-freedom-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Intellect begins with the observation of nature, proceeds to memorize and classify the facts thus observed, and by logical deduction builds up that edifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/intellect-begins-with-the-observation-of-nature-proceeds-to-memorize/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In a sense, every tool is a machine--the hammer, the ax, and the chisel. And every machine is a tool. The real distinction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-a-sense-every-tool-is-a-machine-the-hammer-the-ax-and-the-chisel/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) [Explore all 86 Herbert Read quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## More Agents quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) [Tom Atlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-atlee/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Many American TV actors employ agents, managers, business managers, publicists and stylists, and are now adding digital media manager to the list. Their job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/many-american-tv-actors-employ-agents-managers-business-managers/) [Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My first job was a film called 'Storm Damage' for the BBC. I was 16 and working with really respected British actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/my-first-job-was-a-film-called-storm-damage-for-the-bbc-i-was-16-and/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [While much of modern behavioral and social science treats individuals as autonomous agents, it is absolutely clear that the way we think and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-nelson/while-much-of-modern-behavioral-and-social-science-treats-individuals/) [Richard R. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-r-nelson/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [“Honestly,” he says, “I judge writers on how they write queries. If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) [Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the agent of destruction in society is the poet. I believe that the poet is necessarily an anarchist, and that he must oppose all organized conceptions of the State, not only those which we inherit from the past, but equally those which are imposed on people in the name of the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Read" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-destroy-and-the-agent-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-destroy-and-the-agent-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/herbert-read-7906_agents_in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-de_2127996.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In order to create it is necessary to destroy; and the agent of destruction in society is the poet. I…” — Herbert Read", "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": "Herbert Read", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In order to create it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-destroy-and-the-agent-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-order-to-create-it-is-necessary-to-destroy-and-the-agent-of/#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 } } ] } ```