--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Robert Conquest once suggested that 'a…" description: "\"“Robert Conquest once suggested that 'a curious little volume might be made of the poems of Stalin, Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Minh, with illustrations by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/martin-amis-704_poetry_robert-conquest-once-suggested-that-a-cu_834942.jpg" --- # Robert Conquest once suggested that 'a curious little… ![“Robert Conquest once suggested that 'a curious little volume might be made of the poems of Stalin, Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Minh, with illustrations by A. Hitler.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/martin-amis-704_poetry_robert-conquest-once-suggested-that-a-cu_834942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/martin-amis-704_poetry_robert-conquest-once-suggested-that-a-cu_834942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/martin-amis-704_poetry_robert-conquest-once-suggested-that-a-cu_834942.jpg) > ““Robert Conquest once suggested that 'a curious little volume might be made of the poems of Stalin, Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Minh, with illustrations by A. Hitler.”” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Amis cites Conquest’s provocative idea of compiling poems by dictators with Hitler illustrations, highlighting absurdity in glorifying tyrants. **In simple terms:** A satirical proposal to expose tyrants’ poetry. Key Takeaway Question the glorification of oppressive figures. Themes satire politics history art criticism Mood critical provocative Type satirical political When to use this quote - academic debate - media analysis - educational curricula Key Concepts totalitarianism literary ethics propaganda Questions to Reflect On - Why juxtapose tyrants with Hitler? - What does this say about cultural memory? A Different Perspective May offend or trivialize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ho Chi Minh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ho-chi-minh/) [Illustrations Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illustrations-hitler-592858/) [Minh Illustrations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minh-illustrations-592861/) [Poems Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-stalin-592857/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robert-conquest-592860/) [Stalin Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalin-castro-592859/) ## Related quotes > [“Robert Conquest once announced three laws of politics, the first of which says that everyone is right-wing in the matters he knows about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/robert-conquest-once-announced-three-laws-of-politics-the-first-of/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [ In the end, many of his more militant colleagues began to feel that \[Ho Chi Minh's\] tendency to compromise, and his reluctance to confront… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/in-the-end-many-of-his-more-militant-colleagues-began-to-feel-that-ho/) [William J. 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Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. 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When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Poetry quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. 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