--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The following obituary appeared in the…" description: "\"“The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph of Sept. 16, 1958: A GREAT POET died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/robert-service-56131_alaska_the-following-obituary-appeared-in-the-p_1638160.jpg" --- # The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh… ![“The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph of Sept. 16, 1958: A GREAT POET died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. He was not a poet's poet. Fancy-Dan dilletantes will dispute the description "great." He was a people's poet. To the people he was great. They…” quote by Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/robert-service-56131_alaska_the-following-obituary-appeared-in-the-p_1638160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/robert-service-56131_alaska_the-following-obituary-appeared-in-the-p_1638160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/robert-service-56131_alaska_the-following-obituary-appeared-in-the-p_1638160.jpg) > ““The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph of Sept. 16, 1958: A GREAT POET died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. He was not a poet's poet. Fancy-Dan dilletantes will dispute the description "great." He was a people's poet. To the people he was great. They understood him, and knew that any verse carrying the by-line of Robert W. Service would be a lilting thing, clear, clean and power-packed, beating out a story with a dramatic intensity that made the nerves tingle. And he was no poor, garret-type poet, either. His stuff made money hand over fist. One piece alone, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, rolled up half a million dollars for him. He lived it up well and also gave a great deal to help others. "The only society I like," he once said, "is that which is rough and tough - and the tougher the better. That's where you get down to bedrock and meet human people." He found that kind of society in the Yukon gold rush, and he immortalized it.”” [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Service celebrated a poet who resonated with ordinary people, writing vivid, accessible verses that earned both fame and fortune, and who valued rugged, authentic communities. **In simple terms:** A poet loved by everyday people for clear, powerful storytelling. Key Takeaway Write with clarity and appeal to real experiences. Themes authenticity popular appeal ruggedness storytelling wealth Mood proud nostalgic Type biographical celebratory inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - public readings - teaching poetry - marketing books Key Concepts Narrative poetry mass appeal cultural identity Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize audience connection over artistic experimentation? - How does ruggedness shape cultural memory? A Different Perspective His commercial success may have eclipsed literary criticism of depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) [Gold rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-rush/) [Great poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-poet/) [Help others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-others/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The poet or the revolutionary is there to articulate the necessity, but until the people themselves apprehend it, nothing can happen ... Perhaps it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-poet-or-the-revolutionary-is-there-to-articulate-the-necessity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't necessarily have to write to be a poet. Some people work in gas stations and they're poets. I don't call myself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-necessarily-have-to-write-to-be-a-poet-some-people-work-in/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [As a public poet, people often don't see the reality of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gorman/as-a-public-poet-people-often-don-t-see-the-reality-of-my-life/) [Amanda Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-gorman/) > [A poet is never one of the people. He is detached, remote, and the life of small-time dances and talk about football would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/a-poet-is-never-one-of-the-people-he-is-detached-remote-and-the-life/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) > [The poet is the voice of the people. And when the poet presents certain ideas, two phrases in one poem can alter a generation's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan/the-poet-is-the-voice-of-the-people-and-when-the-poet-presents/) [Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan/) > [“The poet's nature is all searching, creator and nourisher of desire; the poet is like the heart in a people's breast, a people without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-muhammad-iqbal-allama-iqbal/the-poet-s-nature-is-all-searching-creator-and-nourisher-of-desire/) [Sir Muhammad Iqbal Allama Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-muhammad-iqbal-allama-iqbal/) > [People can't see that if I had not been a poet, I could never have had such success as a traveler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/people-can-t-see-that-if-i-had-not-been-a-poet-i-could-never-have-had/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [If I'm the people's poet, then I ought to be in people's hands - and, I hope, in their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-i-m-the-people-s-poet-then-i-ought-to-be-in-people-s-hands-and-i/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-know-some-people-might-think-it-odd-unworthy-even-for-me-to-have/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [In most men there exists a poet who died young, whom the man survived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/in-most-men-there-exists-a-poet-who-died-young-whom-the-man-survived/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [Inside every man there is a poet who died young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-kanfer/inside-every-man-there-is-a-poet-who-died-young/) [Stefan Kanfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-kanfer/) > [A poet must have died as a man before he is worth anything as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-morgenstern/a-poet-must-have-died-as-a-man-before-he-is-worth-anything-as-a-poet/) [Christian Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-morgenstern/) > [“I told you in the course of this paper that Shakespeare had a sister; but do not look for her in Sir Sidney Lee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-told-you-in-the-course-of-this-paper-that-shakespeare-had-a-sister/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“So Mr. Pizarsky had been a poet? That was how he’d said it: “I was a poet." As if the poet had died. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/so-mr-pizarsky-had-been-a-poet-that-was-how-he-d-said-it-i-was-a-poet/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/each-man-carries-within-him-the-soul-of-a-poet-who-died-young/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More by Robert Service > [Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/be-master-of-your-petty-annoyances-and-conserve-your-energies-for-the/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) > [“Parvus denied that universal suffrage was an end to itself since the middle class would always find ways to manipulate the electoral system. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/parvus-denied-that-universal-suffrage-was-an-end-to-itself-since-the/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) > [“It wallowed in its water-bed; it burrowed, heaved and swung; It gnawed its way ahead with grunts and sighs; Its bill of fare was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/it-wallowed-in-its-water-bed-it-burrowed-heaved-and-swung-it-gnawed/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) > [“The man who can fight to heaven's own height is the man who can fight when he's losing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/the-man-who-can-fight-to-heaven-s-own-height-is-the-man-who-can-fight/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) > [“Dirt is just matter out of place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/dirt-is-just-matter-out-of-place/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) [Explore all 6 Robert Service quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) ## More Alaska quotes > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Grief is like an ocean. It comes in waves - some waves are bigger than others and you cannot prepare for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-lane/grief-is-like-an-ocean-it-comes-in-waves-some-waves-are-bigger-than/) [Summer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-lane/) > [There's no doubt 'normal' is changing - spring actually came a month early in Alaska, for example, and we had to stop filming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-rice/there-s-no-doubt-normal-is-changing-spring-actually-came-a-month/) [Travis Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-rice/) > [Kids in Alaska don't know they're growing up on the Last Frontier. It's just what they see on the license plates, and it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/kids-in-alaska-don-t-know-they-re-growing-up-on-the-last-frontier-it/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/what-the-hell-is-instant-nothing-is-instant/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/they-re-our-next-door-neighbors-and-you-can-actually-see-russia-from/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [If the world were an orange with 18 segments meeting at the top (the North Pole), roughly 8 of them would be in Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/if-the-world-were-an-orange-with-18-segments-meeting-at-the-top-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And I just got the ghost, and I'm calling it Casper but that is so cold, it belong in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/and-i-just-got-the-ghost-and-i-m-calling-it-casper-but-that-is-so/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/like-any-traveler-i-m-always-looking-for-those-experiences-that-are/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/a-changing-environment-will-affect-alaska-more-than-any-other-state/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Mitt Romney understands the importance of Alaska as a leader in our country's energy production and I look forward to working with him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/mitt-romney-understands-the-importance-of-alaska-as-a-leader-in-our/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [“The canopy of trees overhead is so thick that only bits and pieces of blue sky can be seen overhead. Narrow rays of sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-g-foster/the-canopy-of-trees-overhead-is-so-thick-that-only-bits-and-pieces-of/) Vanessa G. Foster > [Let's make a deal: You figure out what the labyrinth is and how to get out of it, and i'll get you laid. -Alaska…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-s-make-a-deal-you-figure-out-what-the-labyrinth-is-and-how-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Browse all 320 Alaska quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph of Sept. 16, 1958: A GREAT POET died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. He was not a poet's poet. Fancy-Dan dilletantes will dispute the description \"great.\" He was a people's poet. To the people he was great. They understood him, and knew that any verse carrying the by-line of Robert W. Service would be a lilting thing, clear, clean and power-packed, beating out a story with a dramatic intensity that made the nerves tingle. And he was no poor, garret-type poet, either. His stuff made money hand over fist. One piece alone, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, rolled up half a million dollars for him. He lived it up well and also gave a great deal to help others. \"The only society I like,\" he once said, \"is that which is rough and tough - and the tougher the better. 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