--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll say that this is probably the best…" description: "\"I'll say that this is probably the best time for poetry since the T'ang dynasty. All the rest of the world is going to school on American poetry in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/sam-hamill-16399_american-poetry_i-ll-say-that-this-is-probably-the-best_2109205.jpg" --- # I'll say that this is probably the best time for poetry… ![“I'll say that this is probably the best time for poetry since the T'ang dynasty. All the rest of the world is going to school on American poetry in the twentieth century, from Ezra Pound to W. S. Merwin, and for very good reason. We have soaked up influence in the last century like a sponge. It's…” quote by Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/sam-hamill-16399_american-poetry_i-ll-say-that-this-is-probably-the-best_2109205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/sam-hamill-16399_american-poetry_i-ll-say-that-this-is-probably-the-best_2109205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/sam-hamill-16399_american-poetry_i-ll-say-that-this-is-probably-the-best_2109205.jpg) > “I'll say that this is probably the best time for poetry since the T'ang dynasty. All the rest of the world is going to school on American poetry in the twentieth century, from Ezra Pound to W. S. Merwin, and for very good reason. We have soaked up influence in the last century like a sponge. It's cross-pollination, first law of biology, that the more variety you have the more health you have.” [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry thrives when diverse traditions blend, enriching the art form like a healthy ecosystem. **In simple terms:** Diverse poetry strengthens the art form Key Takeaway Embrace and study varied poetic traditions. Themes poetry diversity culture creativity Mood enthusiastic inspired Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - literary criticism - creative writing workshops - academic curricula - public readings Key Concepts cross-pollination influence biological metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does cross-cultural influence shape your poetic voice? - What traditions can you explore to enrich your work? A Different Perspective May dilute distinct cultural voices if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-poetry/) [Best time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-time/) [Best times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-times/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Dynasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dynasty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ezra-pound/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Ang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-ang-4250742/) [Poetry Twentieth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-twentieth-3073576/) [Pollination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollination/) [Pounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pounds/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sponges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sponges/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-poetry/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [What happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began to be written for the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/what-happened-to-poetry-in-the-twentieth-century-was-that-it-began-to/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [There's always a need at a critical time for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/there-s-always-a-need-at-a-critical-time-for-poetry/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“Sitting with some of the other members of the Scholastic Decathlon team, quiet, studious Martha Cox heard snatches of the lunchtime poetry. 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Poetry is political in that it's standing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/poets-are-political-they-have-to-be-reflections-of-their-times/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [No time for poetry but exactly what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/no-time-for-poetry-but-exactly-what-is/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The difference between prose logic and poetic thought is simple. The logician uses words as a builder uses bricks, for the unemotional deadness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-difference-between-prose-logic-and-poetic-thought-is-simple-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [An agricultural landscape produces food but it also provides water, requires biodiversity to underpin soil function, pollination and other useful services, and also has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-benton/an-agricultural-landscape-produces-food-but-it-also-provides-water/) [Tim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-benton/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) ## More by Sam Hamill > [If only we could touch the things of this world at their center, if we could only hear tiny leaves of birch struggling toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/if-only-we-could-touch-the-things-of-this-world-at-their-center-if-we/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I'm basically a poetry scholar, and I'm happier here in my studio with my row of Chinese dictionaries than I am, frankly, at Lincoln…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-m-basically-a-poetry-scholar-and-i-m-happier-here-in-my-studio-with/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [We poets don't tend to be certain a lot. Much of our art is made out of our own uncertainty. And there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/we-poets-don-t-tend-to-be-certain-a-lot-much-of-our-art-is-made-out/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is compassionate toward one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering-human-beings-has-to-find-a/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Korea's first Zen Master-poet wrote simple yet elegant poetry of the world he inhabited, both physically and spiritually, and of daily insights-a pause along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/korea-s-first-zen-master-poet-wrote-simple-yet-elegant-poetry-of-the/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [There's a fragment that goes, "Some say the most beautiful thing in the world is a great cavalry riding down over the hill. Others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/there-s-a-fragment-that-goes-some-say-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I think a lot of American poets are swimming-pool Soviets. A lot of them have taken the comfortable, self-protective route too often. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-think-a-lot-of-american-poets-are-swimming-pool-soviets-a-lot-of/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Nothing will change until we demolish the "we-they" mentality. We are human, and therefore all human concerns are ours. And those concerns are personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/nothing-will-change-until-we-demolish-the-we-they-mentality-we-are/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I'm a poet who practices Zen. And it's not, I'm somebody who practices Zen who writes poetry. There's no separation for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-m-a-poet-who-practices-zen-and-it-s-not-i-m-somebody-who-practices/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Kenneth Rexroth took me under his wing for a brief period. I was fifteen years old, and I was smoking a lot of heroin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/kenneth-rexroth-took-me-under-his-wing-for-a-brief-period-i-was/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [One of the things I love about translation is it obliterates the self. When I'm trying to figure out what Tu Fu has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/one-of-the-things-i-love-about-translation-is-it-obliterates-the-self/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [The oldest cliché in the world is about "what's lost in translation," but you don't very often read much intelligent about what's gained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/the-oldest-clich-in-the-world-is-about-what-s-lost-in-translation-but/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [The only thing we all agree on, virtually every poet in this country, is that this Administration is really frightening, and we want something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/the-only-thing-we-all-agree-on-virtually-every-poet-in-this-country/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [George W. Bush is using language that's a mirror image of the language of Osama bin Laden when he says, "We have God on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/george-w-bush-is-using-language-that-s-a-mirror-image-of-the-language/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I would say that my great political awakening was really born on Okinawa, reading Albert Camus: the "Neither Victims nor Executioners" essay and The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-would-say-that-my-great-political-awakening-was-really-born-on/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) [Explore all 40 Sam Hamill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) ## More American poetry quotes > [I'm educating myself more about world poetry. I know a lot about contemporary American poetry, so I felt I needed to learn more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-joseph/i-m-educating-myself-more-about-world-poetry-i-know-a-lot-about/) [Allison Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-joseph/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-think-the-best-american-poetry-is-the-poetry-that-utilizes-the/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [“Mr Rutger cornet de Groot. Never read any American poetry or any other foreign poetry, which is why he always mentions 2 poets as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martinus-hendrikus-benders/mr-rutger-cornet-de-groot-never-read-any-american-poetry-or-any-other/) [Martinus Hendrikus Benders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martinus-hendrikus-benders/) > [Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/kerouac-you-re-ruining-american-poetry-o-hara-o-hara-that-s-more-than/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be part of American cultural myth and thus they figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/from-reading-a-previous-answer-you-know-that-i-consider-all-those/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [Mandelstam is the sort of poet who comes along very, very rarely. Even the two Russian poets whose work is often linked with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/mandelstam-is-the-sort-of-poet-who-comes-along-very-very-rarely-even/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [American poetry is always about defining oneself individually,claiming one's right to be different and often to break taboos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/american-poetry-is-always-about-defining-oneself-individually/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [Distinctly American poetry is usually written in the context of one's geographic landscape, sometimes out of one's cultural myths, and often with reference to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/distinctly-american-poetry-is-usually-written-in-the-context-of-one-s/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [American poetry, like American painting, is always personal with an emphasis on the individuality of the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/american-poetry-like-american-painting-is-always-personal-with-an/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [“LIFE IS NEVER OVER.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-king/life-is-never-over/) [Amy King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-king/) > [“Tell this to ladies: how a hero man Assail a thick and scandalous giant Who casts true shadow in the sun, And die, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowe-ransom/tell-this-to-ladies-how-a-hero-man-assail-a-thick-and-scandalous/) [John Crowe Ransom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowe-ransom/) > [The Astonishment Tapes will now take its place within the growing field of international research about postwar American poetry's important contribution to world literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gizzi/the-astonishment-tapes-will-now-take-its-place-within-the-growing/) [Peter Gizzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gizzi/) > [I don't think the creative writing industry has helped American poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/i-don-t-think-the-creative-writing-industry-has-helped-american-poetry/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [I definitely wish to distinguish American poetry from British or other English language poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-definitely-wish-to-distinguish-american-poetry-from-british-or/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) [Browse all 62 American poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-poetry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'll say that this is probably the best time for poetry since the T'ang dynasty. 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