--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All poetry is experimental poetry." description: "\"All poetry is experimental poetry.\" — Wallace Stevens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg" --- # All poetry is experimental poetry. ![“All poetry is experimental poetry.” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg) > “All poetry is experimental poetry.” [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry constantly pushes boundaries, turning every verse into a test of form and idea. **In simple terms:** Poetry is always an experiment. Key Takeaway Embrace risk in writing. Themes creativity experimentation artistic expression Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - personal journaling - classroom teaching Key Concepts modernism form innovation Questions to Reflect On - How does experimental poetry challenge your expectations? - What risks are you willing to take in your own work? A Different Perspective Experimentation can alienate traditional audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental/) [Experimental Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental-poetry-1989608/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Experimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-experimental-1989607/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) ## Related quotes > [Palestinian society is filled with poetry, but not experimental poetry. The Palestinian poetry that people know is not the modernist experimentations, it's certain kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/palestinian-society-is-filled-with-poetry-but-not-experimental-poetry/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [The experimental poetry thing is not my thing. It's a programme of the avant-garde: basically a refusal of the kind of poetry I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/the-experimental-poetry-thing-is-not-my-thing-it-s-a-programme-of-the/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Poetry is a satifying of the desire for resemblance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-a-satifying-of-the-desire-for-resemblance/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the statement of a relation between a man and the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-statement-of-a-relation-between-a-man-and-the-world/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The belief in poetry is a magnificent fury, or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-belief-in-poetry-is-a-magnificent-fury-or-it-is-nothing/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is poetry, and one's objective as a poet is to achieve poetry precisely as one's objective in music is to achieve music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-poetry-and-one-s-objective-as-a-poet-is-to-achieve-poetry/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The purpose of poetry is to make life complete in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-purpose-of-poetry-is-to-make-life-complete-in-itself/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Many people become bankrupt through having invested too heavily in the prose of life. To have ruined one's self over poetry is an honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/many-people-become-bankrupt-through-having-invested-too-heavily-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Poetry is the memory of language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roubaud/poetry-is-the-memory-of-language/) [Jacques Roubaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roubaud/) > [Poetry is the dark side of the moon,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wright/poetry-is-the-dark-side-of-the-moon/) [Charles Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wright/) > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [All poetry is misrepresentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/all-poetry-is-misrepresentation/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More by Wallace Stevens > [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“The stars are putting on their glittering belts, They throw around their shoulders cloaks that flash Like a great shadow's last embellishment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-stars-are-putting-on-their-glittering-belts-they-throw-around/) [wallace stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The word is the making of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-word-is-the-making-of-the-world/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/a-diary-is-more-or-less-the-work-of-a-man-of-clay-whose-hands-are/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [It is never the thing but the version of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-never-the-thing-but-the-version-of-the-thing/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) [Explore all 352 Wallace Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## More Experimental quotes > [I think the most experimental way to a film is to tell the story the traditional way, because everyone is doing the other thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-think-the-most-experimental-way-to-a-film-is-to-tell-the-story-the/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [If I have to be 'the experimental guy' or whatever, then I'll roll with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flying-lotus/if-i-have-to-be-the-experimental-guy-or-whatever-then-i-ll-roll-with/) [Flying Lotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flying-lotus/) > [Post-minimalism implies music that's genre-less. Minimalism was very important because it came at a time when contemporary music had become so complex, so experimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-beiser/post-minimalism-implies-music-that-s-genre-less-minimalism-was-very/) [Maya Beiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-beiser/) > [You don't do an experimental film to become rich, so the people who are involved are involved because they enjoy the creative aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/you-don-t-do-an-experimental-film-to-become-rich-so-the-people-who/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [People usually call me for experimental songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-ali/people-usually-call-me-for-experimental-songs/) [Javed Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-ali/) > [the attempt to break a habit of years is necessarily experimental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/the-attempt-to-break-a-habit-of-years-is-necessarily-experimental/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [But, in the name of the experimental method and out of our poor knowledge, are we really entitled to claim that everything happens by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/but-in-the-name-of-the-experimental-method-and-out-of-our-poor/) [Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/) > [At the age of 60, I am less experimental and more mature. I want most of all to convey my understanding of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/at-the-age-of-60-i-am-less-experimental-and-more-mature-i-want-most/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Never give up your right to be wrong, and be sure to give others that right too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/never-give-up-your-right-to-be-wrong-and-be-sure-to-give-others-that/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [New situations requiring closer contact with the rabbit had been gradually introduced and the degree to which these situations were avoided, tolerated, or welcomed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-jones/new-situations-requiring-closer-contact-with-the-rabbit-had-been/) [Mary C. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-jones/) > [In 'Demon's Souls,' we tried to implement some features in a kind of experimental way, not being sure whether or not it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidetaka-miyazaki/in-demon-s-souls-we-tried-to-implement-some-features-in-a-kind-of/) [Hidetaka Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidetaka-miyazaki/) > [You need to be experimental. You try things, and it is OK if they don't always work necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronan-keating/you-need-to-be-experimental-you-try-things-and-it-is-ok-if-they-don-t/) [Ronan Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronan-keating/) > [I studied science and journalism at the University of Colorado and then got interested in experimental film there and started doing my own films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-darnell/i-studied-science-and-journalism-at-the-university-of-colorado-and/) [Eric Darnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-darnell/) > [I was originally a painter, and I made films sort of as an extension of that, and then I started to try to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/i-was-originally-a-painter-and-i-made-films-sort-of-as-an-extension/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [“Kindle with your computer Using the Experimental”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amazon/kindle-with-your-computer-using-the-experimental/) [Amazon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amazon/) [Browse all 162 Experimental quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All poetry is experimental poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Stevens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experimental" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/wallace-stevens-846_experimental_all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry-320802_3208025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All poetry is experimental poetry.” — Wallace Stevens", "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": "Wallace Stevens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All poetry is experimental poetry.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/all-poetry-is-experimental-poetry/#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 } } ] } ```