--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you see the poet laureate saying…" description: "\"When you see the poet laureate saying that every child should have read 'Ulysses' and that you're just giving up on children if you think it's elitist ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg" --- # When you see the poet laureate saying that every child… ![“When you see the poet laureate saying that every child should have read 'Ulysses' and that you're just giving up on children if you think it's elitist - does that include children with special needs or whose first language isn't English?” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg) > “When you see the poet laureate saying that every child should have read 'Ulysses' and that you're just giving up on children if you think it's elitist - does that include children with special needs or whose first language isn't English?” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions elitism in literary canon and questions inclusion of diverse children, especially those with special needs or non‑English backgrounds. **In simple terms:** It challenges exclusive literary standards and urges broader accessibility. Key Takeaway Advocate inclusive reading choices. Themes education inclusion literature elitism diversity Mood concerned reflective Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom curricula - library programs - parental guidance - policy making Key Concepts cultural capital accessibility equity Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula balance literary merit with accessibility? - What support do non‑English speakers need to engage with complex texts? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints of resources and language support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Ulysses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulysses/) ## Related quotes > [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“The worst book I’ve ever read is “Ulysses,” by Joyce, because like my undergraduate college degree, that’s nine and a half years of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-worst-book-i-ve-ever-read-is-ulysses-by-joyce-because-like-my/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“To pass the time, I made valiant strides in my effort to read Ulysses, but feared I was losing the war. A hundred pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-justin-shier/to-pass-the-time-i-made-valiant-strides-in-my-effort-to-read-ulysses/) [B. Justin Shier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-justin-shier/) > [“When The Journal of Words compiled its list of the one hundred best novels written in English, do you know that Pride and Prejudice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/when-the-journal-of-words-compiled-its-list-of-the-one-hundred-best/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [Each Australian is a Ulysses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/each-australian-is-a-ulysses/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [My favorite books are actually very complicated - 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', 'Ulysses'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/my-favorite-books-are-actually-very-complicated-one-hundred-years-of/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Now left to man's ingratitude he lay, Unhoused, neglected in the public way; And where on heaps the rich manure was spread, Obscene with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/now-left-to-man-s-ingratitude-he-lay-unhoused-neglected-in-the-public/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/mr-leopold-bloom-ate-with-relish-the-inner-organs-of-beasts-and-fowls/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [We haven't time to spare to hear whether it was between Italy and Sicily that he ran into a storm or somewhere outside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/we-haven-t-time-to-spare-to-hear-whether-it-was-between-italy-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [In translation studies we talk about domestication - translation styles that make something familiar - or estrangement - translation styles that make something radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-studies-we-talk-about-domestication-translation-styles/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Ulysses could have done with a good editor. You know people are always putting Ulysses in the top 10 books ever written but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/ulysses-could-have-done-with-a-good-editor-you-know-people-are-always/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [“Molly Bloom is simply the most sensuous woman in literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/molly-bloom-is-simply-the-most-sensuous-woman-in-literature/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Two years ago your father died, Ulysses. But as long as we are alive, as long as we are together, as long as two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/two-years-ago-your-father-died-ulysses-but-as-long-as-we-are-alive-as/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [ James Joyce is a cul-de-sac. \[Ulysses is\] ... an example how literature branched out and went into, lost itself in nowhere, no man's land. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/james-joyce-is-a-cul-de-sac-ulysses-is-an-example-how-literature/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [When Ulysses hears his own story sung by an epic poet and then he reveals his identity and the poet wants to continue singing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-queneau/when-ulysses-hears-his-own-story-sung-by-an-epic-poet-and-then-he/) [Raymond Queneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-queneau/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you see the poet laureate saying that every child should have read 'Ulysses' and that you're just giving up on children if you think it's elitist - does that include children with special needs or whose first language isn't English?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-that-every-child-should-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-that-every-child-should-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/nick-hornby-325_children_when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-th_2146027.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you see the poet laureate saying that every child should have read 'Ulysses' and that you're just…” — Nick Hornby", "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": "Nick Hornby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you see the poet laureate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-that-every-child-should-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-you-see-the-poet-laureate-saying-that-every-child-should-have/#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 } } ] } ```