--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good poet will usually borrow from…" description: "\"A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.\" — T. S. Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png" --- # A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in… ![“A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png) > “A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.” [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets often draw from distant times, alien languages, or varied interests. **In simple terms:** Poets borrow across time, language, and interests. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse influences. Themes creativity intertextuality culture history Mood inspired analytical Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - academic research - cross‑cultural projects Key Concepts literature anthropology art theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you blend old and new? - What sources inspire you most? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on past can stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Authors Remote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-remote-5191699/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Borrow Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrow-authors-5191698/) [Diverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diverse/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Good artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-artist/) [Good Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-poet-583647/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Immature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immature/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-usually-5191697/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Usually Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usually-borrow-5179938/) ## Related quotes > [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique-2/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [If the Nation is living within its income, its credit is good. If, in some crises, it lives beyond its income for a year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/if-the-nation-is-living-within-its-income-its-credit-is-good-if-in/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Against my better judgment I feel certain that somewhere very near here—the first house down the road, maybe—there's a good poet dying, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/against-my-better-judgment-i-feel-certain-that-somewhere-very-near/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...when a good poet is confronted with difficult facts that he knows to be true but also are inimical to poetry, he has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/when-a-good-poet-is-confronted-with-difficult-facts-that-he-knows-to/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [ If poetry were nothing but texture, \[Dylan\] Thomas would be as good as any poet alive. The what of his poems is hardly essential… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-poetry-were-nothing-but-texture-dylan-thomas-would-be-as-good-as/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [If I were to have a dream job, it would probably be a poet. Then again, I don't think I'm a very good poet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/if-i-were-to-have-a-dream-job-it-would-probably-be-a-poet-then-again/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the Muses, believing that technique alone will make him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-a-man-comes-to-the-door-of-poetry-untouched-by-the-madness-of-the/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [A good poet's made as well as born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/a-good-poet-s-made-as-well-as-born/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“(1)BEING A POET is like opening a car door & exposing yourself. (2)BEING A GOOD POET is like opening the door & exposing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chocolate-waters/1-being-a-poet-is-like-opening-a-car-door-exposing-yourself-2-being-a/) [Chocolate Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chocolate-waters/) > [To be a good poet, you must care more about the writing, than the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/to-be-a-good-poet-you-must-care-more-about-the-writing-than-the-writer/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [Every good poet includes a critic, but the reverse is not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/every-good-poet-includes-a-critic-but-the-reverse-is-not-true/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [The good poet sticks to his real loves, to see within the realm of possibility. He never tries to hold hands with God or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/the-good-poet-sticks-to-his-real-loves-to-see-within-the-realm-of/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [A good poet feels what his community feels. Like if you stub your toe, the rest of your body hurts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/a-good-poet-feels-what-his-community-feels-like-if-you-stub-your-toe/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [“Think of my Pleasure in Solitude, in comparison of my commerce with the world - there I am a child - there they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/think-of-my-pleasure-in-solitude-in-comparison-of-my-commerce-with/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## More by T. S. Eliot > [The Nobel is a ticket to one's own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-nobel-is-a-ticket-to-one-s-own-funeral-no-one-has-ever-done/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Dear Mother, I am getting on nicely in my work at the bank, and like it ... I want to find out something about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/dear-mother-i-am-getting-on-nicely-in-my-work-at-the-bank-and-like-it/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, But the faith and the love and the hope are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/for-love-would-be-love-of-the-wrong-thing-there-is-yet-faith-but-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We must always take risks. That is our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-must-always-take-risks-that-is-our-destiny/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-significant-truths-are-private-truths-as-they-become-public-they/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/when-forced-to-work-within-a-strict-framework-the-imagination-is/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/honest-criticism-and-sensitive-appreciation-are-directed-not-upon-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We had the experience, but we missed the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-had-the-experience-but-we-missed-the-meaning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The end is in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-is-in-the-beginning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [You have learned enough to see that cats are much like you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/you-have-learned-enough-to-see-that-cats-are-much-like-you-and-me/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [It's strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/it-s-strange-that-words-are-so-inadequate-yet-like-the-asthmatic/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Every end is a beginning...And every beginning is an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/every-end-is-a-beginning-and-every-beginning-is-an-end/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) [Explore all 433 T. S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## More Aliens quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [Ay-firmative,' Eve said, and tried for a smile. 'Sorry. An Aliens reference always makes me feel better at times like this. Exept I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/ay-firmative-eve-said-and-tried-for-a-smile-sorry-an-aliens-reference/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I'm not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-a-fan-of-any-genre-but-am-a-fan-of-movies-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) [Twe Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twe-stephens/) > [Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/robin-williams-was-an-airman-a-doctor-a-genie-a-nanny-a-president-a/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Evangelicals are distraught over the state of America because they have not been taught that we're aliens here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/evangelicals-are-distraught-over-the-state-of-america-because-they/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Even the Supreme Court, back when it used to makes sense, the Supreme Court has never ruled that a baby born to illegal aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/even-the-supreme-court-back-when-it-used-to-makes-sense-the-supreme/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 1,329 Aliens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. S. Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-authors-remote-in-time-or-alien/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aliens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-authors-remote-in-time-or-alien/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/t-s-eliot-633_aliens_a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-aut_3070575.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.” — T. S. Eliot", "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": "T. S. Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good poet will usually borrow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-authors-remote-in-time-or-alien/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-good-poet-will-usually-borrow-from-authors-remote-in-time-or-alien/#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 } } ] } ```