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Paradoxically, the simpler poetry is, the more difficult it becomes for a critic to discuss intelligently. Trained to explicate, the critic often loses the ability to evaluate literature outside the critical act. A work is good only in proportion to the richness and complexity of interpretations it provokes.

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More quotes by Dana Gioia

To speak from a particular place and time is not provincialism but part of a writer’s identity.

Being a California Poet (1999)

Old empires always appeal to modern poets more than new ones.

In America, the term younger poet is applied with chivalric liberality. It can be used to describe anyone not yet collecting a Social Security pension.

Being so deeply rooted in one place and culture allows a genuine writer to experiment wildly with the material without ever losing touch with its essence.

The music that of common speech
but slanted so that each detail
sounds unexpected as a sharp
inserted in a simple scale.

The Gods of Winter (1991)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Dana Gioia (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.