Audience Quote by Ted Kooser
“There's always been what I would call the William Carlos Williams strain, in which poems of simplicity and clarity are valued by a different community. I was talking to Galway Kinnell one day, and he said that there was an audience for poetry up until about 1920 and then, from that point on, the poets and the critics drifted.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Poetry Discussion, 2000s
The quote contrasts early 20th‑century poetry valued for simplicity with later modernist trends that favored complexity, noting a shift in audience taste.
In simple terms: Early poems were simple; later poems became complex.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how audience preferences evolve.
Themes
poetry
literary history
taste
culture
audience
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
critical
historical
When to use this quote
- teaching literature
- writing workshops
- publishing decisions
Key Concepts
modernism
simplicity
critical reception
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you decide which style resonates with you?
- What drives shifts in artistic taste?
A Different Perspective
Literary analysis may overlook individual reader experiences.
![“That kind of thinking [that writers must alleviate their guilt for leading a creative life] is based on the idea that the creative life is somehow self-indulgent. Artists and writers have to understand and live the truth that what we are doing is nourishing the world. William Carlos Williams said…” quote by Ariel Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4a4/ariel-gore-16108_art_that-kind-of-thinking-that-writers-must_2380477.jpg)
