--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's true to say that in 1973 I…" description: "\"I think it's true to say that in 1973 I could read every book of poems that was published in a year, and I did.\" — Robert Hass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/robert-hass-3548_book_i-think-it-s-true-to-say-that-in-1973-i_626450.png" --- # I think it's true to say that in 1973 I could read every… ![“I think it's true to say that in 1973 I could read every book of poems that was published in a year, and I did.” quote by Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/robert-hass-3548_book_i-think-it-s-true-to-say-that-in-1973-i_626450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/robert-hass-3548_book_i-think-it-s-true-to-say-that-in-1973-i_626450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/robert-hass-3548_book_i-think-it-s-true-to-say-that-in-1973-i_626450.png) > “I think it's true to say that in 1973 I could read every book of poems that was published in a year, and I did.” [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims they could read every poetry book published in a year, highlighting an intense dedication to literature. **In simple terms:** Extreme reading habit. Key Takeaway Read widely. Themes dedication literature intensity Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal enrichment - literary criticism Key Concepts bibliophilia cultural immersion Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to consume so much content? - How do you balance breadth and depth? A Different Perspective Such a feat may be unsustainable and limit depth of understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1973 Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1973-read-5057405/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-poems-1969885/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poems Published](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-published-723037/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Published Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/published-year-745558/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [My first book of poems was published privately in 1949. That was my mother. The book was '25 Poems.' It cost 200 dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-first-book-of-poems-was-published-privately-in-1949-that-was-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My first collection of poems was published by Bloodaxe Books, which was then a very new imprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/my-first-collection-of-poems-was-published-by-bloodaxe-books-which/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I write a book of poems and then the characters won't go away so I write a play from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-cavalieri/i-write-a-book-of-poems-and-then-the-characters-won-t-go-away-so-i/) [Grace Cavalieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-cavalieri/) > [Some good, some so-so, and lots plain bad: that's how a book of poems is made, my Friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/some-good-some-so-so-and-lots-plain-bad-that-s-how-a-book-of-poems-is/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [When Emily Dickinson's poems were published in the 1890s, they were a best-seller; the first book of her poems went through eleven editions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-emily-dickinson-s-poems-were-published-in-the-1890s-they-were-a/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“They're just people that write poems that get published and anthologized all over the place but they're not poets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/they-re-just-people-that-write-poems-that-get-published-and/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [I'm very successful, but there are 50,000 general interest books published every year. If you don't want to read mine, there are others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-m-very-successful-but-there-are-50-000-general-interest-books/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [So many (too many) books are published every year, and it seems everyone is writing a book. Perhaps we should all be reading more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/so-many-too-many-books-are-published-every-year-and-it-seems-everyone/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [More and more books are published every year. If people were not reading them, they wouldn't be published. We are in a different moment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/more-and-more-books-are-published-every-year-if-people-were-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Quite a few books about decluttering are published in a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/quite-a-few-books-about-decluttering-are-published-in-a-year/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [It would take a lifetime to read all the webcomics published in one year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/it-would-take-a-lifetime-to-read-all-the-webcomics-published-in-one/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [“They're not. That's partly what's so awful. I mean they're not real poets. They're just people that write poems that get published and anthologized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/they-re-not-that-s-partly-what-s-so-awful-i-mean-they-re-not-real/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Maybe lurking in my unconscious was the idea that when someone's collected poems are published it means that the poet is dead. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/maybe-lurking-in-my-unconscious-was-the-idea-that-when-someone-s/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Macmillan's rejection had left him very downcast... Patrick Swift was invited to peruse the contents and decided that the poems should be published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/macmillan-s-rejection-had-left-him-very-downcast-patrick-swift-was/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) > [However, I began to submit poems to British magazines, and some were accepted. It was a great moment to see my first poems published.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/however-i-began-to-submit-poems-to-british-magazines-and-some-were/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) ## More by Robert Hass > [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [All the new thinking is about loss. In this it resembles all the old thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/all-the-new-thinking-is-about-loss-in-this-it-resembles-all-the-old/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Poetry, when it takes sides, when it proposes solutions, isn't any smarter than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/poetry-when-it-takes-sides-when-it-proposes-solutions-isn-t-any/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I was in college, I lost my scholarship one year. I had enough money for tuition, but not room and board. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-was-in-college-i-lost-my-scholarship-one-year-i-had-enough/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [After Pope, in the beginning of Romanticism, people developed the idea that imagination rather than reason was a special form of knowledge and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/after-pope-in-the-beginning-of-romanticism-people-developed-the-idea/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [They are the kinds of things that make us a community: attachment to place, attachment to local arts traditions, the ability to read literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/they-are-the-kinds-of-things-that-make-us-a-community-attachment-to/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I suppose there's something to be said for the sheer reinforcement of our beliefs, but really I think poetry is more useful as disenchantment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-suppose-there-s-something-to-be-said-for-the-sheer-reinforcement-of/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [If you were making poetry out of convictions - trying to convince other people - you were in the territory of rhetoric, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-were-making-poetry-out-of-convictions-trying-to-convince-other/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Milton was the first person who really experimented with putting politics into sonnets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/milton-was-the-first-person-who-really-experimented-with-putting/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I came into the job, funding for the humanities at the federal level was being drastically cut. This was the high tide of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-came-into-the-job-funding-for-the-humanities-at-the-federal/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [One may prefer spring and summer to autumn and winter, but preference is hardly to the point. The earth turns, and we live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/one-may-prefer-spring-and-summer-to-autumn-and-winter-but-preference/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“ A Faint Music by Robert Hass Maybe you need to write a poem about grace. When everything broken is broken, and everything dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/a-faint-music-by-robert-hass-maybe-you-need-to-write-a-poem-about/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“When everything broken is broken, and everything dead is dead, and the hero has looked into the mirror with complete contempt, and the heroine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-everything-broken-is-broken-and-everything-dead-is-dead-and-the/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) [Explore all 128 Robert Hass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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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/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. 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