--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was thinking about How Poetry…" description: "\"“When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life entering the “big literary world” I more so viewed it as sub genre or an underdog book because ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/amber-dawn-32462_books_when-i-was-thinking-about-how-poetry-sav_1032793.jpg" --- # When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life… ![“When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life entering the “big literary world” I more so viewed it as sub genre or an underdog book because there are still comparatively so few books about sex work, especially from authors who once worked street, like I have. Disclosing to working…” quote by Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/amber-dawn-32462_books_when-i-was-thinking-about-how-poetry-sav_1032793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/amber-dawn-32462_books_when-i-was-thinking-about-how-poetry-sav_1032793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/amber-dawn-32462_books_when-i-was-thinking-about-how-poetry-sav_1032793.jpg) > ““When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life entering the “big literary world” I more so viewed it as sub genre or an underdog book because there are still comparatively so few books about sex work, especially from authors who once worked street, like I have. Disclosing to working street-level sex work still feels risky to me. Apart from Runaway by Evelyn Lau (published in 1989) I have yet to read a first person memoir about street work. More of these stories must be out there—perhaps I just haven’t found them yet.”” [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sharing personal experiences of sex work can fill a literary gap, offering authenticity and empowerment. **In simple terms:** Stories about sex work are rare but needed. Key Takeaway Support marginalized voices. Themes representation voice empowerment Mood empathetic hopeful Type inspirational advocacy When to use this quote - publishing - activism - education Key Concepts literature social justice Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect storytellers? - What impact does representation have? A Different Perspective Risk of exploitation or sensationalism exists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sex work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-work/) ## Related quotes > [I had some very, very fond memories of the people I worked with and the authors I worked with - and I won't mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-had-some-very-very-fond-memories-of-the-people-i-worked-with-and/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Here's how men think. Sex, work - and those are reversible, depending on age - sex, work, food, sports and lastly, begrudgingly, relationships. 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That belief is misguided because sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/many-people-believe-trans-women-choose-to-engage-in-the-sex-trade/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [You mustn't force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/you-mustn-t-force-sex-to-do-the-work-of-love-or-love-to-do-the-work/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“Why do prostitutes when they get straight always try and get so prim? It's like long-repressed librarian-ambitions come flooding out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-do-prostitutes-when-they-get-straight-always-try-and-get-so-prim/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Maybe he'd never come acrross anybody as well versed at objectifying body parts as I was. In my defense, this was an occupational hazard;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-shaw/maybe-he-d-never-come-acrross-anybody-as-well-versed-at-objectifying/) [Aiden Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-shaw/) > [“I saw a documentary about prostitution in Holland a few years ago, that said over there health insurance actually pays for monthly visits to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/i-saw-a-documentary-about-prostitution-in-holland-a-few-years-ago/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) ## More by Amber Dawn > [“Is desecration teaching? Is violence knowledge? Is haunting a kind of life? I had no model for rebirth. No second coming blueprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/is-desecration-teaching-is-violence-knowledge-is-haunting-a-kind-of/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“and I loved long drives how you can close your eyes, then open, and everything around you has changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/and-i-loved-long-drives-how-you-can-close-your-eyes-then-open-and/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [ “\[This\] story ...is the one I recount to remind myself that I survived and that the worth of my life can be paid back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/this-story-is-the-one-i-recount-to-remind-myself-that-i-survived-and/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“I...believe that passively reading about or otherwise witnessing injustice injures us--it widens the disconnect. 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The labour of survival is laden with myth and misunderstanding.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/lying-is-the-work-of-people-who-are-told-their-truths-have-no-value/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“...I learned the power of identity--the idea that even an uneducated woman, like myself, who hadn't read Mary Wollstonecraft or bell hooks, could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/i-learned-the-power-of-identity-the-idea-that-even-an-uneducated/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“He has always been a silent gargoyle sitting at the head of our family table. I've pieced together his story from what little my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/he-has-always-been-a-silent-gargoyle-sitting-at-the-head-of-our/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“What would Samuel Becket say if he knew that Broadway musicals are all that survived of the theatre world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/what-would-samuel-becket-say-if-he-knew-that-broadway-musicals-are/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“I swung my hips around like I unscrewed at the waist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/i-swung-my-hips-around-like-i-unscrewed-at-the-waist/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“I had spent so much time secretly scared of rape that in that moment I was hardly even afraid anymore. Or rather I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/i-had-spent-so-much-time-secretly-scared-of-rape-that-in-that-moment/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) [Explore all 15 Amber Dawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life entering the “big literary world” I more so viewed it as sub genre or an underdog book because there are still comparatively so few books about sex work, especially from authors who once worked street, like I have. Disclosing to working street-level sex work still feels risky to me. 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