"Well - I started writing - probably in the early 60s and by say '65-'66 I had read most of the poetry that had been published - certainly in the 20 years prior to that"
About this Quote
There’s an almost comic swagger in the claim to have “read most of the poetry that had been published” in a generation, and the dash-heavy delivery makes that bravado feel both casual and defensive. The speaker isn’t simply reporting a youthful reading habit; he’s constructing authority in real time. The self-interruptions (“probably,” “by say ’65-’66”) soften the boast just enough to keep it socially survivable, like watching someone flex while pretending they’re not.
The specific intent is credentialing: I didn’t just start writing, I immediately earned my right to speak by inhaling the canon. But the subtext is anxious. “Most” and “certainly” are slippery, overconfident words that beg to be challenged, and the tight timebox (“20 years prior”) quietly lowers the bar. It’s a neat rhetorical move: claim totality while defining the universe small enough to conquer.
Context matters, and here the timeline does a lot of work. If Adamson is framed as a 19th-century philosopher (1852-1902), the “early 60s” would mean the 1860s - a period when “most of the poetry published” is a plausible fantasy only if you’re speaking from a particular vantage point: a narrow national scene, a limited set of journals, or a deliberately curated idea of what counts as “poetry.” If, instead, this is a later Adamson misdated as 19th century, the quote reads like mid-century literary masculinity: the myth that serious writers prove themselves through maximal consumption before they dare to produce.
Either way, the line reveals a worldview where art is a territory to map and master - and where the speaker wants you to know he arrived early, read hard, and belongs.
The specific intent is credentialing: I didn’t just start writing, I immediately earned my right to speak by inhaling the canon. But the subtext is anxious. “Most” and “certainly” are slippery, overconfident words that beg to be challenged, and the tight timebox (“20 years prior”) quietly lowers the bar. It’s a neat rhetorical move: claim totality while defining the universe small enough to conquer.
Context matters, and here the timeline does a lot of work. If Adamson is framed as a 19th-century philosopher (1852-1902), the “early 60s” would mean the 1860s - a period when “most of the poetry published” is a plausible fantasy only if you’re speaking from a particular vantage point: a narrow national scene, a limited set of journals, or a deliberately curated idea of what counts as “poetry.” If, instead, this is a later Adamson misdated as 19th century, the quote reads like mid-century literary masculinity: the myth that serious writers prove themselves through maximal consumption before they dare to produce.
Either way, the line reveals a worldview where art is a territory to map and master - and where the speaker wants you to know he arrived early, read hard, and belongs.
Quote Details
| Topic | Poetry |
|---|
More Quotes by Robert
Add to List
