--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have no precise idea of who makes up my…" description: "\"I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. I'm surprised when I discover people have read my poems at all.\" — Cate Marvin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/cate-marvin-21032_ideas_i-have-no-precise-idea-of-who-makes-up-m_614805.png" --- # I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. I'm… ![“I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. I'm surprised when I discover people have read my poems at all.” quote by Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/cate-marvin-21032_ideas_i-have-no-precise-idea-of-who-makes-up-m_614805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/cate-marvin-21032_ideas_i-have-no-precise-idea-of-who-makes-up-m_614805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/cate-marvin-21032_ideas_i-have-no-precise-idea-of-who-makes-up-m_614805.png) > “I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. I'm surprised when I discover people have read my poems at all.” [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author acknowledges uncertainty about their audience, expressing surprise at the reach of their poetry. **In simple terms:** Uncertainty about who reads one's work. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown readership. Themes creativity audience surprise Mood curious thoughtful Type reflective literary When to use this quote - publishing - reading groups - literary events Key Concepts literature poetry authorial perspective Questions to Reflect On - Who might be resonating with your poems? - How can you discover more about your readers? A Different Perspective Audience demographics remain unclear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Makes Readership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-readership-4985855/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precise/) [Read Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-poems-1249435/) [Readership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readership/) [Readership Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readership-surprised-4985856/) [Surprised Discover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-discover-2545666/) ## Related quotes > [If you think you can't do something, you can't. 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I was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mccrory/appallingly-i-hadn-t-thought-about-it-one-jot-i-never-daydreamed-as-a/) [Helen McCrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mccrory/) > [You may be surprised to discover you're rich, especially if you're broke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/you-may-be-surprised-to-discover-you-re-rich-especially-if-you-re/) [P. J. 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My heart is in my mouth, and the sound of poetry is the way in."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/i-read-poems-for-the-pleasure-of-the-mouth-my-heart-is-in-my-mouth/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [“You can say no if you dun’ wanna do it,” he finally says, “but I was thinkin’ maybe you could teach me to read.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-winfield/you-can-say-no-if-you-dun-wanna-do-it-he-finally-says-but-i-was/) [Ryan Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-winfield/) > [“Read everything you can push into your skull. Read your mother’s diary. Read Assata. Read everything Gloria Steinem and bell hooks write. Read all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-rivera/read-everything-you-can-push-into-your-skull-read-your-mother-s-diary/) [Gabby Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-rivera/) > [I like to go back and read poems that I wrote fifty years ago, twenty years ago, and sometimes they surprise me - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-like-to-go-back-and-read-poems-that-i-wrote-fifty-years-ago-twenty/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stevenson/each-word-bears-its-weight-so-you-have-to-read-my-poems-quite-slowly/) [Anne Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stevenson/) > [“I wonder if you ever read my poems and wish they were written for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/i-wonder-if-you-ever-read-my-poems-and-wish-they-were-written-for-you/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) ## More by Cate Marvin > [The fiction writer has a lot of balls to juggle. Setting, pacing, dialogue, and so on. And let's not forget: plot. That was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/the-fiction-writer-has-a-lot-of-balls-to-juggle-setting-pacing/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [One cannot have "success" in poetry. If I wanted to be successful, I'd have become a lawyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/one-cannot-have-success-in-poetry-if-i-wanted-to-be-successful-i-d/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [One of the reasons poetry is such an amazing genre to work with is because it constantly reinvents itself and re-negotiates its terms with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/one-of-the-reasons-poetry-is-such-an-amazing-genre-to-work-with-is/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [Confessional poetry is, to my mind, more slippery than poems that are sloppily autobiographical; I find the confessional mode much more akin to dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/confessional-poetry-is-to-my-mind-more-slippery-than-poems-that-are/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I do believe that one's writing life needs to be kept separate from Po-Biz. Personally, I deal with this by not attending too many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-do-believe-that-one-s-writing-life-needs-to-be-kept-separate-from/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I place a lot of emphasis on process and revision because I believe that all of my students can become better writers through hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-place-a-lot-of-emphasis-on-process-and-revision-because-i-believe/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [“I think with my blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-think-with-my-blood/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I consider poetry my vocation, not my "career." My career is as a university professor; that's what pays the bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-consider-poetry-my-vocation-not-my-career-my-career-is-as-a/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I like it when poems are challenging, when they concern matters important and personal to the author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-like-it-when-poems-are-challenging-when-they-concern-matters/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I find the elitism and blatant provincialism of many (Manhattan-based) New Yorkers unattractive. Just as place can be an identity crutch that helps a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-find-the-elitism-and-blatant-provincialism-of-many-manhattan-based/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I am like a table that eats its own legs off because it’s fallen in love with the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-am-like-a-table-that-eats-its-own-legs-off-because-it-s-fallen-in/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [Some poems take two to three years to finish. Rarely, a poem will arrive whole. It's nice when that happens. However, process has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/some-poems-take-two-to-three-years-to-finish-rarely-a-poem-will/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I encourage my students to be honest in their assessment of both the published work we read and the work of their classmates. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-encourage-my-students-to-be-honest-in-their-assessment-of-both-the/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [To think of writing poetry as a "career" is not only ridiculous, it's dangerous. To the imagination. To the way one thinks of art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/to-think-of-writing-poetry-as-a-career-is-not-only-ridiculous-it-s/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [It takes a certain kind of mind to narrate, to work through character motivation, to be unforgiving to one's writer-self when it comes down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/it-takes-a-certain-kind-of-mind-to-narrate-to-work-through-character/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) [Explore all 30 Cate Marvin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) ## More Ideas 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/) > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 24,908 Ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. 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