Life & Wisdom Quote by George Murray

"In my opinion, Al Moritz may be the best poet of his generation in Canada"

George Murray, Poet

About this Quote

Praise from one poet to another is never just aesthetic; it is a small act of canon-making. George Murray’s line looks casual - “In my opinion” - but that softener is doing strategic work. It signals humility while quietly reserving the right to redraw the map. In a literary culture where reputations are often brokered through grants, juries, and polite blurbs, Murray’s claim pushes past safe commendation and into ranking: “may be the best poet of his generation in Canada.” That’s not a compliment; it’s a bid to set the terms of comparison.

The subtext is a subtle critique of how Canadian poetry is usually discussed. “Of his generation” invokes an anxious, cohort-based marketplace of attention: who defines the era, who gets remembered, who gets taught. By naming Al Moritz (long celebrated but sometimes treated as a connoisseur’s poet), Murray leans against the churn of trend and novelty, implying that Moritz’s durability outweighs whatever is currently fashionable.

The phrasing also reveals a poet’s ear for defensible boldness. “May be” keeps the statement technically arguable; it’s strong without being litigable. “In Canada” widens the stage, inviting national scrutiny while hinting at the country’s perennial inferiority complex about cultural prestige. Murray isn’t just admiring Moritz; he’s lobbying for seriousness - for a way of reading where craft, depth, and intellectual pressure count more than scene, brand, or institutional momentum.

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Topic	Poetry
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George Murray is a Poet from Canada.

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