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Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is their main use.
Ezra Pound
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Writers have a crucial role in society that corresponds to their writing skills.

Ezra Pound emphasizes that literature and writing are deeply connected to the social context in which they are created. He suggests that authors have an important responsibility to society that is directly linked to their talent and abilities, indicating that their work has practical implications beyond mere artistic expression.

Themes

LiteratureSocial FunctionWritersResponsibilityArt

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the role of artists in society, this quote can highlight the importance of literature.

More from Ezra Pound

It is difficult to write a paradiso when all the superficial indications are that you ought to write an apocalypse.
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The ant's a centaur in his dragon world. Pull down thy vanity, it is not man Made courage, or made order, or made grace, Pull down thy vanity, I say pull down. Learn of the green world what can be thy place In scaled invention or true artistry, Pull down thy vanity, Paquin pull down! The green casque has outdone your elegance.
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I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever.
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In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
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The modern artist must live by craft and violence. His gods are violent gods. Those artists, so called, whose work does not show this strife, are uninteresting.
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Fundamental accuracy of statement is the ONE sole morality of writing.
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