---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble with the performance poets is…"
description: "\"The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real sense of the poetic tradition in their wor..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg"
---

#  The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't…

![“The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real sense of the poetic tradition in their work.” quote by Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg)

> “The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real sense of the poetic tradition in their work.”

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Performance poets often lack deep literary grounding, resulting in work disconnected from poetic tradition.

**In simple terms:** Performance poets may not read much, missing tradition.

Key Takeaway

Encourage broader reading for richer performance poetry.

Themes

art education tradition authenticity

Mood

inquisitive thoughtful

Type

educational reflective

When to use this quote

- Poetry workshops
- literature classes
- performance critiques

Key Concepts

Literary canon cultural literacy creative expression

Questions to Reflect On

- What benefits come from studying classic poetry?
- Can innovation exist without tradition?

A Different Perspective

Some performance poetry thrives on spontaneity over tradition.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Real sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-sense/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/)

## Related quotes

> [Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/historical-sense-and-poetic-sense-should-not-in-the-end-be/)

[Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/)

> [Many performance poets seem to believe that yelling a poem makes it comprehensible. They are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-nelson/many-performance-poets-seem-to-believe-that-yelling-a-poem-makes-it/)

[Marilyn Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-nelson/)

> [Poets don't finish poems, they abandon them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poets-don-t-finish-poems-they-abandon-them/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/poets-don-t-draw-they-unravel-their-handwriting-and-then-tie-it-up/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [“Because Poets don't dream of becoming millionaires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/because-poets-don-t-dream-of-becoming-millionaires/)

[Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/)

> [the poets down here don't write nothin' at all, they just stand back and let it all be...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-poets-down-here-don-t-write-nothin-at-all-they-just-stand-back/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [“But poets don't want homes -- do they? -- they are not creatures of hearths and firedogs, but of heaths and ranging hounds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/but-poets-don-t-want-homes-do-they-they-are-not-creatures-of-hearths/)

[A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/)

> [Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting andthen tie it up again, but differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poets-don-t-draw-they-unravel-their-handwriting-andthen-tie-it-up/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Especially right after 9/11. Especially when the war in Afghanistan is going on. There was a real sense that you don't get that critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/especially-right-after-9-11-especially-when-the-war-in-afghanistan-is/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [There is a real sense of family when you're around Australians, even if you don't know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/there-is-a-real-sense-of-family-when-you-re-around-australians-even/)

[Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/)

> [I have a real sense of appreciation of being in the NBA with all that I'd gone through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-ginobili/i-have-a-real-sense-of-appreciation-of-being-in-the-nba-with-all-that/)

[Manu Ginobili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-ginobili/)

> [I think that there's a real sense in which pregnancy should be something that you do with your doctor, but I think that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/i-think-that-there-s-a-real-sense-in-which-pregnancy-should-be/)

[Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/)

> [If you do something right you get a real sense of achievement and an adrenalin rush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-young/if-you-do-something-right-you-get-a-real-sense-of-achievement-and-an/)

[Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-young/)

> [When you're guest-starring, it's very nice, but you're there very briefly, and it's right there in the name: You're a guest. It's very hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeljko-ivanek/when-you-re-guest-starring-it-s-very-nice-but-you-re-there-very/)

[Zeljko Ivanek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeljko-ivanek/)

> [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/)

[Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/)

## More by Peter Davison

> [There are so many things that poetry is about, one of which is memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/there-are-so-many-things-that-poetry-is-about-one-of-which-is-memory/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [But poetry is my life. Poetry is what matters to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/but-poetry-is-my-life-poetry-is-what-matters-to-me/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [I like poems that are complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-like-poems-that-are-complex/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [I think poetry has lost an awful lot of its muscle because nobody knows any. Nobody has to memorize poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-think-poetry-has-lost-an-awful-lot-of-its-muscle-because-nobody/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [If poets were realistic, they wouldn't be poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/if-poets-were-realistic-they-wouldn-t-be-poets/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [Poetry is composing for the breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/poetry-is-composing-for-the-breath/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [Poetry should be able to reach everybody, and it should be able to appeal to all levels of understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/poetry-should-be-able-to-reach-everybody-and-it-should-be-able-to/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [I would like to be proud of having written some poems that will be remembered, but I will never know whether I will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-would-like-to-be-proud-of-having-written-some-poems-that-will-be/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [Poetry was invented as an mnemonic device to enable people to remember their prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/poetry-was-invented-as-an-mnemonic-device-to-enable-people-to/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [My friends never talk to me about my poetry because they're embarrassed that I write it or they're embarrassed by what I write about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/my-friends-never-talk-to-me-about-my-poetry-because-they-re/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [I just think that some version of the past in our culture is going to rise up and become dominant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-just-think-that-some-version-of-the-past-in-our-culture-is-going-to/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [For instance, it's a little better now than it was two or three years ago, but something like 70% of the poems I receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/for-instance-it-s-a-little-better-now-than-it-was-two-or-three-years/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [People are talking about the Internet as though it is going to change the world. It's not going to change the world. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/people-are-talking-about-the-internet-as-though-it-is-going-to-change/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [Dealing with poetry is a daunting task, simply because the reason one does it as an editor at all is because one is constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/dealing-with-poetry-is-a-daunting-task-simply-because-the-reason-one/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

> [In my youth, I found that I was quite often inspired and pushed forward by what I read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/in-my-youth-i-found-that-i-was-quite-often-inspired-and-pushed/)

[Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

[Explore all 31 Peter Davison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/)

## More Anything quotes

> [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/)

[Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/)

> [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/)

[Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/)

> [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/)

[Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/)

> [I haven't shut any doors, and I'm really open to anything, so I think it's just about the material and what is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-panabaker/i-haven-t-shut-any-doors-and-i-m-really-open-to-anything-so-i-think/)

[Danielle Panabaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-panabaker/)

> [When it really comes down to it, the job you do is more important and is more representative of who you are than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/when-it-really-comes-down-to-it-the-job-you-do-is-more-important-and/)

[Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/)

> [The reason I'm drawn to it is - both the off road racing and the motorcycles on the track - it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/the-reason-i-m-drawn-to-it-is-both-the-off-road-racing-and-the/)

[Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/)

> [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/)

[Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/)

> [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/)

[Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/)

> [You know, I'm from Baltimore; nobody has anything. When somebody had talent, I was hiring my uncle, my cousin, you know? Getting people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/you-know-i-m-from-baltimore-nobody-has-anything-when-somebody-had/)

[Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/)

> [I said to my agent, 'I want short, sharp, well-paid jobs because I haven't got time for anything else.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-whitelaw/i-said-to-my-agent-i-want-short-sharp-well-paid-jobs-because-i-haven/)

[Billie Whitelaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-whitelaw/)

> [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/)

[Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/)

> [If the Bible is correct, and the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that means there were no dinosaurs, and museum curators have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/if-the-bible-is-correct-and-the-earth-is-only-6-000-years-old-that/)

[Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/)

> [Don't do anything drastic like getting your eyebrows tattooed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/don-t-do-anything-drastic-like-getting-your-eyebrows-tattooed/)

[Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/)

> [Whenever you define family as anything other than a man and a woman married together, you have just introduced an ethical nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/whenever-you-define-family-as-anything-other-than-a-man-and-a-woman/)

[Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/)

> [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/)

[Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/)

Browse all 9,437 Anything quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real sense of the poetic tradition in their work.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter Davison"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-is-that-they-don-t-seem-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anything"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-is-that-they-don-t-seem-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/peter-davison-20292_anything_the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-i_3129032.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real…” — Peter Davison",
                "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": "Peter Davison",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The trouble with the performance poets...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-is-that-they-don-t-seem-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/the-trouble-with-the-performance-poets-is-that-they-don-t-seem-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
