--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: making final judgements about poets…" description: "\"making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on the basis of an anthology is always dangerous: anthologies are mirages created, finally, by t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg" --- # making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on… ![“making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on the basis of an anthology is always dangerous: anthologies are mirages created, finally, by their editors.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg) > “making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on the basis of an anthology is always dangerous: anthologies are mirages created, finally, by their editors.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judging art or places solely from a curated collection is risky because editors shape the selection, creating a misleading picture. **In simple terms:** Anthologies reflect editors' bias, not full reality. Key Takeaway Seek broader perspectives beyond curated selections. Themes bias curation critical thinking art criticism Mood skeptical analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading reviews - travel planning - educational curricula Key Concepts Literary criticism editorial influence Questions to Reflect On - What sources can you consult for a fuller view? - How do editorial choices affect perception? A Different Perspective It may undervalue valuable works omitted from anthologies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthologies/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Judgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [I am also working on a couple of short stories for anthologies. This is new to me and Im enjoying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/i-am-also-working-on-a-couple-of-short-stories-for-anthologies-this/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [“And found there one of those huge comprehensive anthologies of literature, the sort of thing which, on a bad day, can induce an inferiority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-levine/and-found-there-one-of-those-huge-comprehensive-anthologies-of/) [Sara Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-levine/) > [“She would keep playing the role of the winner as long as the audience believed her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-papas/she-would-keep-playing-the-role-of-the-winner-as-long-as-the-audience/) [Mary Papas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-papas/) > [Beginning in middle school, the era of wide-margined, Bible-paged anthologies, short stories develop unpromising associations - and these associations often linger through college, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/beginning-in-middle-school-the-era-of-wide-margined-bible-paged/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [There have been a lot of horror anthologies as of late; movies like V/H/S and The ABCs of Death have brought the anthology back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mendez/there-have-been-a-lot-of-horror-anthologies-as-of-late-movies-like-v/) [Mike Mendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mendez/) > [However, poetry does not live solely in books or in school anthologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenio-montale/however-poetry-does-not-live-solely-in-books-or-in-school-anthologies/) [Eugenio Montale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenio-montale/) > [Anthologies are mischievous things. Some years ago there was a rage for chemically predigested food, which was only suppressed when doctors pointed out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/anthologies-are-mischievous-things-some-years-ago-there-was-a-rage/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Since I'm a fan of collections and anthologies, believe that the best writing often shines in shards and galloping stretches, I never find myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/since-i-m-a-fan-of-collections-and-anthologies-believe-that-the-best/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [“The runway splayed out at her feet and at its height were the limits of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-buchta/the-runway-splayed-out-at-her-feet-and-at-its-height-were-the-limits/) Theresa Buchta > [The first writers are first and the rest, in the long run, nowhere but in anthologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-first-writers-are-first-and-the-rest-in-the-long-run-nowhere-but/) [Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/) > [I am an anthologist, you see. I sort of make anthologies for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rees/i-am-an-anthologist-you-see-i-sort-of-make-anthologies-for-people/) [Roger Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rees/) > [I'll tell you what I miss most. What I would love to do, more than anything, is just anthologies. With an anthology you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-spelling/i-ll-tell-you-what-i-miss-most-what-i-would-love-to-do-more-than/) [Aaron Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-spelling/) > [Oh, I love to read more than anything. I always love the 'New Stories From the South' anthologies - I think it's the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/oh-i-love-to-read-more-than-anything-i-always-love-the-new-stories/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [I collect musical theatre anthologies. I have a whole library of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/i-collect-musical-theatre-anthologies-i-have-a-whole-library-of-them/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Anthologies quotes > [I am also working on a couple of short stories for anthologies. This is new to me and Im enjoying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/i-am-also-working-on-a-couple-of-short-stories-for-anthologies-this/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Oh, I love to read more than anything. I always love the 'New Stories From the South' anthologies - I think it's the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/oh-i-love-to-read-more-than-anything-i-always-love-the-new-stories/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [I'll tell you what I miss most. What I would love to do, more than anything, is just anthologies. With an anthology you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-spelling/i-ll-tell-you-what-i-miss-most-what-i-would-love-to-do-more-than/) [Aaron Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-spelling/) > [I am an anthologist, you see. I sort of make anthologies for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rees/i-am-an-anthologist-you-see-i-sort-of-make-anthologies-for-people/) [Roger Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rees/) > [The first writers are first and the rest, in the long run, nowhere but in anthologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-first-writers-are-first-and-the-rest-in-the-long-run-nowhere-but/) [Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/) > [“The runway splayed out at her feet and at its height were the limits of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-buchta/the-runway-splayed-out-at-her-feet-and-at-its-height-were-the-limits/) Theresa Buchta > [Since I'm a fan of collections and anthologies, believe that the best writing often shines in shards and galloping stretches, I never find myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/since-i-m-a-fan-of-collections-and-anthologies-believe-that-the-best/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [Anthologies are mischievous things. Some years ago there was a rage for chemically predigested food, which was only suppressed when doctors pointed out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/anthologies-are-mischievous-things-some-years-ago-there-was-a-rage/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [However, poetry does not live solely in books or in school anthologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenio-montale/however-poetry-does-not-live-solely-in-books-or-in-school-anthologies/) [Eugenio Montale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenio-montale/) > [There have been a lot of horror anthologies as of late; movies like V/H/S and The ABCs of Death have brought the anthology back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mendez/there-have-been-a-lot-of-horror-anthologies-as-of-late-movies-like-v/) [Mike Mendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mendez/) > [Beginning in middle school, the era of wide-margined, Bible-paged anthologies, short stories develop unpromising associations - and these associations often linger through college, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/beginning-in-middle-school-the-era-of-wide-margined-bible-paged/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [“She would keep playing the role of the winner as long as the audience believed her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-papas/she-would-keep-playing-the-role-of-the-winner-as-long-as-the-audience/) [Mary Papas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-papas/) > [“And found there one of those huge comprehensive anthologies of literature, the sort of thing which, on a bad day, can induce an inferiority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-levine/and-found-there-one-of-those-huge-comprehensive-anthologies-of/) [Sara Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-levine/) > [I collect musical theatre anthologies. I have a whole library of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/i-collect-musical-theatre-anthologies-i-have-a-whole-library-of-them/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) [Browse all 21 Anthologies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthologies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on the basis of an anthology is always dangerous: anthologies are mirages created, finally, by their editors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/making-final-judgements-about-poets-cities-or-regions-on-the-basis-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthologies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/making-final-judgements-about-poets-cities-or-regions-on-the-basis-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/margaret-atwood-40_anthology_making-final-judgements-about-poets-citi_1008860.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“making final judgements about poets, cities or regions on the basis of an anthology is always dangerous…” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "making final judgements about poets, cities...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/making-final-judgements-about-poets-cities-or-regions-on-the-basis-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/making-final-judgements-about-poets-cities-or-regions-on-the-basis-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 } } ] } ```