--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth…" description: "\"“Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts beating them down. Fuc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amiri-baraka-8050_poetry_poems-are-bullshit-unless-they-are-teeth_390481.jpg" --- # Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or… ![“Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts beating them down. Fuck poems and they are useful, wd they shoot come at you, love what you are, breathe like wrestlers, or shudder strangely after pissing. We want live…” quote by Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amiri-baraka-8050_poetry_poems-are-bullshit-unless-they-are-teeth_390481.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amiri-baraka-8050_poetry_poems-are-bullshit-unless-they-are-teeth_390481.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amiri-baraka-8050_poetry_poems-are-bullshit-unless-they-are-teeth_390481.jpg) > ““Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts beating them down. Fuck poems and they are useful, wd they shoot come at you, love what you are, breathe like wrestlers, or shudder strangely after pissing. We want live words of the hip world live flesh & coursing blood. Hearts Brains Souls splintering fire. We want poems like fists beating niggers out of Jocks or dagger poems in the slimy bellies of the owner-jews. Black poems to smear on girdlemamma mulatto bitches whose brains are red jelly stuck between ‘lizabeth taylor’s toes. Stinking Whores! we want “poems that kill.”” [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote demands raw, visceral poetry that confronts oppression, violence, and identity, rejecting sanitized art in favor of confrontational truth. **In simple terms:** Calls for unapologetic, aggressive poetry that reflects lived struggle. Key Takeaway Embrace bold, confrontational expression. Themes art politics identity violence language Mood defiant raw provocative Type poetic political social When to use this quote - protest art - street performance - activist writing - cultural resistance Key Concepts radicalism social critique embodied experience Questions to Reflect On - How does aggression shape poetic impact? - What responsibilities do poets have to marginalized voices? A Different Perspective May alienate audiences seeking gentle aesthetics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [We want poems that kill assassin poems, poems that shoot guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys. And take their weapon, leaving them dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-want-poems-that-kill-assassin-poems-poems-that-shoot-guns-poems/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think I've been writing black poems all along, wearing my white mask. I'm always the victim ... but no longer!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-think-i-ve-been-writing-black-poems-all-along-wearing-my-white-mask/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Those who are not very concerned with art want poems or pictures to record for them something they already know - as one might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-oppen/those-who-are-not-very-concerned-with-art-want-poems-or-pictures-to/) [George Oppen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-oppen/) > [I simply don't want the poems mixed up with my life or opinions or picture or any other regrettable concomitants. I look like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/i-simply-don-t-want-the-poems-mixed-up-with-my-life-or-opinions-or/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“I want words which are scalpel sharp and shiny; poems keen enough to gut a fish and clean it. Poems labelled not for domestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-bateson/i-want-words-which-are-scalpel-sharp-and-shiny-poems-keen-enough-to/) Catherine Bateson > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) ## More by Amiri Baraka > [I had just been in some repressive situations - the black middle-class college scene and the crazy United States Air Force - and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-just-been-in-some-repressive-situations-the-black-middle-class/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [what is lost because it is most precious what is most precious because it is lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/what-is-lost-because-it-is-most-precious-what-is-most-precious/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [You have to get an individual who's willing to actually struggle with the system to change it. As long as you have people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/you-have-to-get-an-individual-who-s-willing-to-actually-struggle-with/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I had a little portable typewriter. I call it my Harlem Literary Fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-a-little-portable-typewriter-i-call-it-my-harlem-literary/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I'm fully conscious all the time that I'm an American Negro, because it's part of my life. But I also know that if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-m-fully-conscious-all-the-time-that-i-m-an-american-negro-because/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. That's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-artist-s-role-is-to-raise-the-consciousness-of-the-people-to-make/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Mao Zedong was a revolutionary. He made a revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/mao-zedong-was-a-revolutionary-he-made-a-revolution/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The films of Warhol, when they are about anything are about sucking people off. This can be high art, to people who are interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-films-of-warhol-when-they-are-about-anything-are-about-sucking/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The poet is someone, I think, who's interested in registering experience immediately or giving you the sense of immediacy and directness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-poet-is-someone-i-think-who-s-interested-in-registering/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Thought is more important than art…To revere art and have no understanding of the process that forces it into existence, is finally not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/thought-is-more-important-than-art-to-revere-art-and-have-no/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Jimmy Baldwin was not only a writer, an international literary figure: he was a man, spirit, voice - old and black and terrible as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/jimmy-baldwin-was-not-only-a-writer-an-international-literary-figure/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The future is always here in the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-future-is-always-here-in-the-past/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I am inside someone who hates me. I look out from his eyes. Smell what fouled tunes come in to his breath. Love his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-am-inside-someone-who-hates-me-i-look-out-from-his-eyes-smell-what/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The further jazz moves away from the stark blue continuum and the collective realities of Afro-American and American life, the more it moves into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-further-jazz-moves-away-from-the-stark-blue-continuum-and-the/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [There is no depth to education without art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/there-is-no-depth-to-education-without-art/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) [Explore all 85 Amiri Baraka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## More Poetry quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“Things are more like they are now...than they have EVER been before!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uncle-arnie-mamath/things-are-more-like-they-are-now-than-they-have-ever-been-before/) Uncle Arnie Mamath [Browse all 21,625 Poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. 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