--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I rely on poetry or literature to keep me…" description: "\"I rely on poetry or literature to keep me centered before I go onstage because it reminds me to be present.\" — Carrie Coon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/carrie-coon-13577_books_i-rely-on-poetry-or-literature-to-keep-m_378201.jpg" --- # I rely on poetry or literature to keep me centered before… ![“I rely on poetry or literature to keep me centered before I go onstage because it reminds me to be present.” quote by Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/carrie-coon-13577_books_i-rely-on-poetry-or-literature-to-keep-m_378201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/carrie-coon-13577_books_i-rely-on-poetry-or-literature-to-keep-m_378201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/carrie-coon-13577_books_i-rely-on-poetry-or-literature-to-keep-m_378201.jpg) > “I rely on poetry or literature to keep me centered before I go onstage because it reminds me to be present.” [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature helps the performer stay grounded and fully attentive before a performance. **In simple terms:** Poetry keeps me centered before stage. Key Takeaway Use reading to stay present. Themes mindfulness preparation creative arts Mood reflective calm Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - theater rehearsals - pre-show routines - personal grounding techniques Key Concepts presence focus ritual Questions to Reflect On - How does reading affect your stage anxiety? - What other rituals could replace literature? A Different Perspective May not work for everyone; reliance on external texts can be limiting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [I don't try to be something I'm not, I don't try to pretend that I'm something I'm not, I don't try to present myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/i-don-t-try-to-be-something-i-m-not-i-don-t-try-to-pretend-that-i-m/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) > [Most of us are worrying about the future so much that we can't enjoy the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-sherman/most-of-us-are-worrying-about-the-future-so-much-that-we-can-t-enjoy/) [Harold Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-sherman/) > [Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime, and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-lives-are-not-our-own-from-womb-to-tomb-we-are-bound-to-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The term stigma and its synonyms conceal a double perspective: does the stigmatized individual assume his differentness is known about already or is evident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-term-stigma-and-its-synonyms-conceal-a-double-perspective-does/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. 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Be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsilio-ficino/never-worry-about-anything-live-in-the-present-live-now-be-happy/) [Marsilio Ficino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsilio-ficino/) > [Dnt let ur past to ruin your present…..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aku/dnt-let-ur-past-to-ruin-your-present/) Aku > [I think if you're too embroiled in the need to relate too closely to the character, then you start to judge the character for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-think-if-you-re-too-embroiled-in-the-need-to-relate-too-closely-to/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“The present is the only thing we can control and is the only thing we can change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wyatt/the-present-is-the-only-thing-we-can-control-and-is-the-only-thing-we/) [William Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wyatt/) > [Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [To have a future we have to live and leave the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akiane-kramarik/to-have-a-future-we-have-to-live-and-leave-the-present/) [Akiane Kramarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akiane-kramarik/) > [My last defense / Is the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/my-last-defense-is-the-present-tense/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [“My past is what God expects me to use to help others through their present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-sorenson/my-past-is-what-god-expects-me-to-use-to-help-others-through-their/) [Toni Sorenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-sorenson/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More by Carrie Coon > [Literature has always been the greatest fuel for my imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/literature-has-always-been-the-greatest-fuel-for-my-imagination/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I think women have long been defined by their roles as procreators and wives, and we're expected to serve, take care of, say 'Yes,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-think-women-have-long-been-defined-by-their-roles-as-procreators/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I was an Emmy nominee and an Emmy snub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-was-an-emmy-nominee-and-an-emmy-snub/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I'm from a family with five kids in it, and my father almost became a Catholic priest. 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I think what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/my-family-was-always-wondering-why-i-ended-up-playing-people-who-were/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I certainly enjoyed having my sister, because when she came I felt a certain responsibility to help her fit in, and help her learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-certainly-enjoyed-having-my-sister-because-when-she-came-i-felt-a/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) [Explore all 50 Carrie Coon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) ## 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! 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