QuoteProject
I have never felt inhibited in trying to write as well as the greatest English poets.
Derek Walcott
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Derek Walcott expresses confidence in his ability to write poetry at the level of celebrated poets.

In this quote, Derek Walcott reflects his unrestrained ambition to achieve excellence in poetry. He emphasizes that he does not feel constrained by the mastery of established English poets, suggesting a belief in his own potential and creativity, which speaks to the personal pursuit of artistic expression and the desire to contribute meaningfully to the literary world.

Themes

PoetryCreativityAmbitionExpressionArtistic

In practice

Example use cases

This quote would be perfect for inspiring young poets at a school event.

More from Derek Walcott

I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very strong thing.
Derek WalcottRead
Creating a poem is a continual process of re-creating your ignorance, in the sense of not knowing what's coming next.
Derek WalcottRead
A long time ago, I thought, as a writer in the Caribbean, 'I don't ever want to have to write 'It was great in Paris.'' Because I don't think, proportionately speaking, that one's experience in a city as opposed to, say, a village in St. Lucia, is superior to the other.
Derek WalcottRead
My mother was a schoolteacher and very, very encouraging. She understood what it meant when I said I wanted to be a writer; both me and my brother wrote.
Derek WalcottRead
When I went to college - when I read Shakespeare or Dickens or Scott - I just felt that, as a citizen of England, a British citizen, this was as much my heritage as any schoolboy's. That is one of the things the Empire taught, that apart from citizenship, the synonymous inheritance of the citizenship was the literature.
Derek WalcottRead
The truest writers are those who see language not as a linguistic process but as a living element.
Derek WalcottRead

Similar quotes

Obviously I am a photographer and I believe in my medium: I do think that powerful photographs can force change. It doesn't take long to look and be engaged in a strong image whereas, with a story, you have to actually sit down and pause and be involved in it.
Lynsey AddarioRead
An artist wears his work in place of wounds.
Patti SmithRead
I lived for 15 years in Los Angeles, and I still can't believe that the handsomest man in the world, Cary Grant, and the greatest performer in the world, Fred Astaire, and Johnny Carson, one after another - they were all in my home at different times. I celebrated my 50th birthday with them. Unforgettable.
Tony BennettRead
If you play music for the right reasons, the rest of the things will come. The right reason to play music is that you love it. That's why I play music. I never imagined that I was going to be doing this, especially because I never thought of myself as an instrumentalist.
George BensonRead
And if I would have taken lessons I probably wouldn't have done it, and what forced me to do all this weird stuff on the guitar was I couldn't afford effects pedals, I didn't have all this stuff when I was a kid so I just tried to squeeze all the weird noises I could out of the guitar, which brings me to building guitars.
Eddie Van HalenRead
If you want something from an audience, you give blood to their fantasies. It's the ultimate hustle.
Marlon BrandoRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Derek Walcott | QuoteProject