--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I keep feeling that there isn't one poem…" description: "\"I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by any one of us - or a book or anything like that. The whole life of us writers, the whole prod..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg" --- # I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by… ![“I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by any one of us - or a book or anything like that. The whole life of us writers, the whole product I guess I mean, is the one long poem - a community effort if you will. It's all the same poem. It doesn't belong to any one writer - it's God's…” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg) > “I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by any one of us - or a book or anything like that. The whole life of us writers, the whole product I guess I mean, is the one long poem - a community effort if you will. It's all the same poem. It doesn't belong to any one writer - it's God's poem perhaps. Or God's people's poem.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The creative process is a collective, shared endeavor rather than an isolated act of a single author. **In simple terms:** Writing is a shared, communal poem. Key Takeaway Embrace collaboration and community in art. Themes creativity community collaboration Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - anthologies - joint projects - online forums Key Concepts collective authorship shared narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does community shape your work? - Can a single voice still emerge within a collective? A Different Perspective Individual genius can be overstated; collaboration may dilute personal voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-poem-429643/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-poem-5861910/) [Poem Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-community-5861909/) [Poem Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-written-318335/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) [Writer God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-god-1460856/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [ I did a film recently in the Republic of Georgia \[upcoming 'Halo of Stars'\] which was based on a long poem written by the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/i-did-a-film-recently-in-the-republic-of-georgia-upcoming-halo-of/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [When I try to describe myself to God I say, 'Lord, remember me? Black? Female? Six-foot tall? The writer?' And I almost always get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/when-i-try-to-describe-myself-to-god-i-say-lord-remember-me-black/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You think I was born yesterday,' she said. Her lips drew back from her teeth. 'In my job I saw dozens of people die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/you-think-i-was-born-yesterday-she-said-her-lips-drew-back-from-her/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The thing I have to do as a writer, and that God permits me to do, is that I have to be willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/the-thing-i-have-to-do-as-a-writer-and-that-god-permits-me-to-do-is/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Here in Manto's own words that he wanted to mark his grave with: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful Here lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadat-hasan-manto/here-in-manto-s-own-words-that-he-wanted-to-mark-his-grave-with-in/) [Saadat Hasan Manto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadat-hasan-manto/) > [“The power of a writer is that he is a god of sorts. He can create his own worlds and populate them with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-power-of-a-writer-is-that-he-is-a-god-of-sorts-he-can-create-his/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“As I write this, I am making a conscious, deliberate effort to be as clear as I possibly can and minimize any potential ambiguity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-a-rizvi/as-i-write-this-i-am-making-a-conscious-deliberate-effort-to-be-as/) [Ali A. Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-a-rizvi/) > [I do think that the long poem speaks for an inner need for continuity. We live in a time of so many losses, disruptions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-do-think-that-the-long-poem-speaks-for-an-inner-need-for-continuity/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I shook myself; I was dreaming. As I went to bed the words of the eighth-grade class's teacher, when the class got to Evangeline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/i-shook-myself-i-was-dreaming-as-i-went-to-bed-the-words-of-the/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [In a long poem or a sequence of poems, you're trying to formalize your obsessions and give them a shape and a name. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/in-a-long-poem-or-a-sequence-of-poems-you-re-trying-to-formalize-your/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I like the dance between sustained focus and digression that the long poem invites. A controlling metaphor helps to sustain the long poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-the-dance-between-sustained-focus-and-digression-that-the-long/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The long poem has been a relative constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-not-say-i-chose-to-write-long-poems-on-a-conscious-level-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A long poem is a test of invention which I take to be the Polar star of poetry, as fancy is the sails, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-long-poem-is-a-test-of-invention-which-i-take-to-be-the-polar-star/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“Girls are cruelest to themselves,” observes Anne Carson in “The Glass Essay,” her brilliant long poem about the ravages of female anger, loneliness, grief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/girls-are-cruelest-to-themselves-observes-anne-carson-in-the-glass/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“An epic without a focus - without a single action, a coherent plot, a single terrible point to make - was just a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/an-epic-without-a-focus-without-a-single-action-a-coherent-plot-a/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by any one of us - or a book or anything like that. The whole life of us writers, the whole product I guess I mean, is the one long poem - a community effort if you will. It's all the same poem. It doesn't belong to any one writer - it's God's poem perhaps. Or God's people's poem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem-being-written-by-any-one-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem-being-written-by-any-one-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/anne-sexton-645_book_i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem_1561984.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I keep feeling that there isn't one poem being written by any one of us - or a book or anything like that…” — Anne Sexton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I keep feeling that there isn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem-being-written-by-any-one-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-keep-feeling-that-there-isn-t-one-poem-being-written-by-any-one-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```