--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when you are foolish enough to…" description: "\"“And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a poet, your interlocutors will often ask: A PUBLISHED Poet? And when you tell them that you a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg" --- # And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a… ![“And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a poet, your interlocutors will often ask: A PUBLISHED Poet? And when you tell them that you are, indeed, a published poet, they seem at least vaguely impressed. Why is that? Its not like they or anybody they know reads poetry journals. And…” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg) > ““And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a poet, your interlocutors will often ask: A PUBLISHED Poet? And when you tell them that you are, indeed, a published poet, they seem at least vaguely impressed. Why is that? Its not like they or anybody they know reads poetry journals. And yet there is something deeply right, I think, about this knee-jerk appeal to publicity. It's as if to say: Everybody can write a poem, but has your poetry, the distillation of your innermost being, been found authentic and intelligible by others? Can it circulate among persons, make of its readership, however small, a People in that sense? This accounts for the otherwise bafflingly persistent association of Poetry and fame - baffling since no poets are famous among the general population. To demand proof of fame is to demand proof that your songs made it back intact from the dream in the stable to the social world of the fire, that your song is at once utterly specific to you and exemplary for others.”” [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets seek validation that their deeply personal work is understood and valued by others, linking authenticity with public recognition. **In simple terms:** Poets want their work to be both true and recognized. Key Takeaway Balance personal truth with sharing it. Themes art authenticity recognition creativity fame Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - publishing a poem - reading groups - social media sharing - literary awards Key Concepts literary theory social validation communication Questions to Reflect On - Do you share work for validation or connection? - How does audience shape your creative choices? A Different Perspective Fame can distort artistic intent; not all audiences appreciate depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Shakespeare has been praised in English more than anything mortal except poetry itself. Fame exhausts thought in his eulogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edward-woodberry/shakespeare-has-been-praised-in-english-more-than-anything-mortal/) [George Edward Woodberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-edward-woodberry/) > [“Some writers, even some poets, become famous public figures, but writers as such have no social status, in the way that doctors and lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/some-writers-even-some-poets-become-famous-public-figures-but-writers/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [Well, I like to write poetry. I'm a published poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-collins/well-i-like-to-write-poetry-i-m-a-published-poet/) [Misha Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-collins/) > [“Taylor sighed. Going head-to-head with Sharpay on a school assignment was really beneath her. But the more Taylor considered it, the more she liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-alfonsi/taylor-sighed-going-head-to-head-with-sharpay-on-a-school-assignment/) [Alice Alfonsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-alfonsi/) > [There's a really generous readership with YA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/there-s-a-really-generous-readership-with-ya/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [In the 1950s we use to feel that television was taking away our comic readership; with today's exciting, powerfully visual movies I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-simon/in-the-1950s-we-use-to-feel-that-television-was-taking-away-our-comic/) [Joe Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-simon/) > [The combination of an out-of-control tabloid press and a readership that thrills to the destruction of the England head coach is something no other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-barnes/the-combination-of-an-out-of-control-tabloid-press-and-a-readership/) [Simon Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-barnes/) > [It's part of a writer's profession, as it's part of a spy's profession, to prey on the community to which he's attached, to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/it-s-part-of-a-writer-s-profession-as-it-s-part-of-a-spy-s-profession/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I realized early in my career that precisely what one reader doesn't like is what another reader loves. Collectively, any writer's audience presents a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-realized-early-in-my-career-that-precisely-what-one-reader-doesn-t/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Readership is highly dependent upon format and distribution as much as it is on content.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/readership-is-highly-dependent-upon-format-and-distribution-as-much/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Newspaper readership is declining like crazy. In fact, there's a good chance that nobody is reading my column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/newspaper-readership-is-declining-like-crazy-in-fact-there-s-a-good/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [It used to be, if you wanted to have a strong, influential voice in the feminist movement, you really needed to be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/it-used-to-be-if-you-wanted-to-have-a-strong-influential-voice-in-the/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I had a blog for many years. Once you develop your readership on your blog, and you can put something out there or direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-williams/i-had-a-blog-for-many-years-once-you-develop-your-readership-on-your/) [Evan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-williams/) > [A readership crisis is really a leadership crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hyatt/a-readership-crisis-is-really-a-leadership-crisis/) [Michael Hyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hyatt/) > [It's about being right and trying to get the facts and get the story right, and inform, you know, the readership or the viewership.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-spicer/it-s-about-being-right-and-trying-to-get-the-facts-and-get-the-story/) [Sean Spicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-spicer/) ## More by Ben Lerner > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Shaving is a way to start the workday by ritually not cutting your throat when you've the chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/shaving-is-a-way-to-start-the-workday-by-ritually-not-cutting-your/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“What you need to do is harness the self-love you are hypostasizing as offspring, as the next generation of you, and let it branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/what-you-need-to-do-is-harness-the-self-love-you-are-hypostasizing-as/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-i-want-to-say-something-to-the-schoolchildren-of-america-who-were/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Part of what makes the book bizzare is that Whitman, because he wants to stand for everyone, because he wants to be less a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/part-of-what-makes-the-book-bizzare-is-that-whitman-because-he-wants/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I didn't want to write another book about fraudulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-didn-t-want-to-write-another-book-about-fraudulence/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [The problem is that if you're self-conscious about being a person on whom nothing is lost, isn't something lost - some kind of presence?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-problem-is-that-if-you-re-self-conscious-about-being-a-person-on/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Most of us start from that position of irony now and what I wanted to do - really felt like I had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/most-of-us-start-from-that-position-of-irony-now-and-what-i-wanted-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Laser technology has fulfilled our people's ancient dream of a blade so fine that the person it cuts remains standing and alive until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/laser-technology-has-fulfilled-our-people-s-ancient-dream-of-a-blade/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/our-contempt-for-any-particular-poem-must-be-perfect-be-total-because/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [If I was a poet, I had become one because poetry, more intensely than any other practice, could not evade its anachronism and marginality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/if-i-was-a-poet-i-had-become-one-because-poetry-more-intensely-than/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Your interviews or blog posts or whatever are less supplements to your novel than part of it. I'm not private, but I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/your-interviews-or-blog-posts-or-whatever-are-less-supplements-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“I’m going to kill the president. I promise. I surrender. I'm sorry. I'm gay. I'm pregnant. I'm dying. I'm not your father. You're fired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-going-to-kill-the-president-i-promise-i-surrender-i-m-sorry-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) [Explore all 73 Ben Lerner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. I come from a - I wouldn't say mean, but you've got to have tough skin to be in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saweetie/i-welcome-criticism-i-come-from-a-i-wouldn-t-say-mean-but-you-ve-got/) [Saweetie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saweetie/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Browse all 3,954 Criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a poet, your interlocutors will often ask: A PUBLISHED Poet? And when you tell them that you are, indeed, a published poet, they seem at least vaguely impressed. Why is that? Its not like they or anybody they know reads poetry journals. And yet there is something deeply right, I think, about this knee-jerk appeal to publicity. It's as if to say: Everybody can write a poem, but has your poetry, the distillation of your innermost being, been found authentic and intelligible by others? Can it circulate among persons, make of its readership, however small, a People in that sense? This accounts for the otherwise bafflingly persistent association of Poetry and fame - baffling since no poets are famous among the general population. To demand proof of fame is to demand proof that your songs made it back intact from the dream in the stable to the social world of the fire, that your song is at once utterly specific to you and exemplary for others.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Lerner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-identify-yourself-as-a-poet-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-identify-yourself-as-a-poet-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/ben-lerner-9267_criticism_and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-ident_2647129.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And when you are foolish enough to identify yourself as a poet, your interlocutors will often ask: A…” — Ben Lerner", "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": "Ben Lerner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And when you are foolish enough...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-identify-yourself-as-a-poet-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-when-you-are-foolish-enough-to-identify-yourself-as-a-poet-your/#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 } } ] } ```