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So, here is the paragraph from the essay which contains the language which Bill Hammick has bastardized to make a statement that neither T.S. Eliot nor Picasso ever made:
“One of the surest tests [of the superiority or inferiority of a poet] is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion. A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.”
This reminds me of descriptions I've heard of how the rock guitarists from the 1960s stole old blues licks from acoustic players of the 30s and 40s and made them into what we think of as classic rock guitar solos. Nice post and link.
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Similarly, Dave Grohl has been very open about stealing most of his early drum beats ("Smells Like Teen Spirit"'s drums come straight from "Burn Rubber" by the Gap Band).
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Which rock guitarist stole from which blues guitarist?
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Top of my head, Eric Clapton-Robert Johnson and Albert King, Jimmy Page-Robert Johnson. Keith Richards-Robert Johnson and Chuck Berry. They all thought of Robert Johnson as the master.
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Nice recall
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There was an old blind bluesman known as Rev Gary Davis who lived in Queens, NY in the 60s. He gave lessons to lots of white kids who would travel to his neighborhood just to learn his technique. Check out his wikipedia page to see all his students who went on to have successful music careers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Gary_Davis
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stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.