system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How well read are famous philosophers?

This has been a question lingering in my mind for a little over a year now and I thought I should ask.

Whether it be a poet, novelist, or philosopher, how well read are they when it comes to the canonical works of their profession as well as the criticism/theory aspect of the profession. 

The important question for me that comes along with this is, what depth of reading within their field constitutes a philosopher or poet to start writing?
gpt
Speaking for two French philosophers I've attended courses, Gilles Deleuze and Michel Guiomar, the men were basically walking libraries. They could literally quote 100 references in context in a two hour lecture with no written notes.