--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When students are first at the Kerouac…" description: "\"When students are first at the Kerouac School we harp on Gertrude Stein's very basic poetic insistence that words are things . Not to invalidate your e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/anne-waldman-4046_active_when-students-are-first-at-the-kerouac-s_1679639.jpg" --- # When students are first at the Kerouac School we harp on… ![“When students are first at the Kerouac School we harp on Gertrude Stein's very basic poetic insistence that words are things . Not to invalidate your experience or all the great feelings you have, I tell them. Although poetry may be good for you, it's not therapy. You're making something with…” quote by Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/anne-waldman-4046_active_when-students-are-first-at-the-kerouac-s_1679639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/anne-waldman-4046_active_when-students-are-first-at-the-kerouac-s_1679639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/anne-waldman-4046_active_when-students-are-first-at-the-kerouac-s_1679639.jpg) > “When students are first at the Kerouac School we harp on Gertrude Stein's very basic poetic insistence that words are things . Not to invalidate your experience or all the great feelings you have, I tell them. Although poetry may be good for you, it's not therapy. You're making something with words which are visceral, muscular, active, not just markers of how you feel. And we have classes studying William Blake, Ezra Pound, Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Stein.” [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Waldman emphasizes that poetry is an active, bodily practice rather than a therapeutic tool, urging students to view words as dynamic material that shapes experience. **In simple terms:** Poetry is a creative, physical act, not just emotional expression. Key Takeaway Treat writing as a physical, expressive process. Themes poetry creativity education embodiment Mood inspired reflective thoughtful Type educational inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literature classes - creative retreats Key Concepts materiality of language expressive practice learning through doing Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing words as material change your writing? - Can poetry serve both artistic and therapeutic purposes? A Different Perspective Focusing on the materiality of words can overlook the therapeutic benefits some find in poetry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Great feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-feelings/) [Insistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insistence/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) [Visceral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral/) ## Related quotes > [ When \[Allen\] Ginsberg and I founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics - that was 1974 - we referred to it by a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-allen-ginsberg-and-i-founded-the-jack-kerouac-school-of/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [The puzzle and conundrums of Emily Dickinson's poetry or The Cantos, by Ezra Pound, is infinitely pleasurable. Or Ronald Johnson's Ark. And the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/the-puzzle-and-conundrums-of-emily-dickinson-s-poetry-or-the-cantos/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Once considered an art form that called for talent, or at least a craft that called for practice, a poem now needs only sincerity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/once-considered-an-art-form-that-called-for-talent-or-at-least-a/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [What the world wants, what the world is waiting for, is not Modern Poetry or Classical Poetry or Neo-Classical Poetry - but Good Poetry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/what-the-world-wants-what-the-world-is-waiting-for-is-not-modern/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [But I don't think that poetry is a good, to use a contemporary word, venue, for current events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/but-i-don-t-think-that-poetry-is-a-good-to-use-a-contemporary-word/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [“Look I'm not the God of Poetry or Good Descriptions, okay? - Hades”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-bevis/look-i-m-not-the-god-of-poetry-or-good-descriptions-okay-hades/) [Kaitlin Bevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-bevis/) > [Gunn would be an important figure-rewarding, delightful, accomplished, enduring-in the history of English-language poetry even were his life not as fascinating as it now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-burt/gunn-would-be-an-important-figure-rewarding-delightful-accomplished/) [Stephen Burt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-burt/) > [“With a little more time, patience, and hard work, and above all with a more sensitive taste for the formal aspects of arts, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/with-a-little-more-time-patience-and-hard-work-and-above-all-with-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Wine is like poetry. If it's good wine. If it's not, then it's a tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carlino/wine-is-like-poetry-if-it-s-good-wine-if-it-s-not-then-it-s-a-tragedy/) [Renée Carlino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carlino/) > [Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/music-is-good-not-evil-poetry-is-good-not-evil-primitive-but-oh-so/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [Poetry is good for unleashing images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/poetry-is-good-for-unleashing-images/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [The Bible has noble poetry in it... and some good morals and a wealth of obscenity, and upwards of a thousand lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-bible-has-noble-poetry-in-it-and-some-good-morals-and-a-wealth-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The gap between verse and poetry is enormous. Between good poetry and good prose the gap is much narrower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-longley/the-gap-between-verse-and-poetry-is-enormous-between-good-poetry-and/) [Michael Longley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-longley/) > [I don't know a better preparation for life than a love of poetry and a good digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/i-don-t-know-a-better-preparation-for-life-than-a-love-of-poetry-and/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) ## More by Anne Waldman > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ We pride ourselves at Natrona - I mean, pride {ironically\] - on developing a noncompetitive community. That's very important. The values that can come… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-pride-ourselves-at-natrona-i-mean-pride-ironically-on-developing-a/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [My father was a frustrated writer. I think he wanted to write the great American novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-father-was-a-frustrated-writer-i-think-he-wanted-to-write-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [No one begs you to be a poet or write a 1000-page poem. You have to be fueled by a drive, a conviction -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/no-one-begs-you-to-be-a-poet-or-write-a-1000-page-poem-you-have-to-be/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [For me there is a poesis, a poetics, around the trope of the road that is embedded within many life experiences of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/for-me-there-is-a-poesis-a-poetics-around-the-trope-of-the-road-that/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [There's a kind of training, when you are sitting in a session in the Japanese tradition or any of the Buddhist traditions, taking your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/there-s-a-kind-of-training-when-you-are-sitting-in-a-session-in-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I had parents who were attentive to what was going on politically. There was the Greek connection, a sense of a larger world. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-had-parents-who-were-attentive-to-what-was-going-on-politically/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [In a way, America's the shadow of everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I carry, no matter if I travel to the ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/in-a-way-america-s-the-shadow-of-everything-i-do-everywhere-i-go/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I look at my life there are these streams, these things that have continuity from the fifties to now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-look-at-my-life-there-are-these-streams-these-things-that-have/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [We humans need to do better with our vast minds and alchemical powers. Future radial poetries might be more symbiotic with the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-humans-need-to-do-better-with-our-vast-minds-and-alchemical-powers/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ I think anything that gets people outside \[is good\] - I'm a big supporter of public parks and public spaces. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-anything-that-gets-people-outside-is-good-i-m-a-big-supporter/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Idea that all the beats are wildly liberal and progressive is ridiculous. You have people thinking for themselves and having certain affinities because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/idea-that-all-the-beats-are-wildly-liberal-and-progressive-is/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I think of my father born in this very small, limited situation and then coming out of that. Many people have this story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-of-my-father-born-in-this-very-small-limited-situation-and/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I attended the Berkeley Poetry Conference in 1965, I was very inspired. The collaboration of many poets from these alternative traditions - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-attended-the-berkeley-poetry-conference-in-1965-i-was-very/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [One has to be cautious and respectful of the power of the "substance" guides. I don't advocate imbibing the "little saint children," as Maria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/one-has-to-be-cautious-and-respectful-of-the-power-of-the-substance/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) [Explore all 117 Anne Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. 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