What do you think of this Faulkner quote?

[Leopard]

“I'm a failed poet. Maybe every novelist wants to write poetry first, finds he can't, and then tries the short story, which is the most demanding form after poetry. And, failing at that, only then does he take up novel writing.”
-William Faulkner

Is there any truth to this or is it just self-deprecation?

[Fourhtyoz]

Have you ever tried to compose poetry?

[ennison]

There are quite a few poor novels out there but even more poor poetry. Free verse poetry can be done very badly by anyone and frequently is. It requires a bit more patience to write a bad novel.