--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One cannot have \"success\" in poetry. If I…" description: "\"One cannot have \"success\" in poetry. If I wanted to be successful, I'd have become a lawyer.\" — Cate Marvin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/cate-marvin-21032_being-successful_one-cannot-have-success-in-poetry-if-i-w_149766.png" --- # One cannot have "success" in poetry. If I wanted to be… ![“One cannot have "success" in poetry. If I wanted to be successful, I'd have become a lawyer.” quote by Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/cate-marvin-21032_being-successful_one-cannot-have-success-in-poetry-if-i-w_149766.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/cate-marvin-21032_being-successful_one-cannot-have-success-in-poetry-if-i-w_149766.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/cate-marvin-21032_being-successful_one-cannot-have-success-in-poetry-if-i-w_149766.png) > “One cannot have "success" in poetry. If I wanted to be successful, I'd have become a lawyer.” [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. Success in poetry is portrayed as incompatible with personal fulfillment; the speaker prefers a different career path. **In simple terms:** Poetry success feels unattainable; prefers law. Key Takeaway Pursue a career that aligns with your values. Themes career art success identity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - choosing a profession - artistic ambition - career change - personal satisfaction Key Concepts creative fulfillment career choice self‑realization Questions to Reflect On - What defines success for you personally? - Can artistic pursuits coexist with other careers? A Different Perspective Success can be defined differently across fields. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) ## Related quotes > [I first studied to be a preacher, but decided that I was too prone to tell big stories. Then I studied Blackstone for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-cline/i-first-studied-to-be-a-preacher-but-decided-that-i-was-too-prone-to/) Isaac Cline > [I went from being totally unknown to getting stopped every time I went out. 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My first dreams and aspirations of being successful was probably that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-successful-in-some-form-or-fashion-my-first/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [ “I have always associated \[Al Que Quiere!\] with a figure on a soccer field: to him who wants the ball to be passed to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-have-always-associated-al-que-quiere-with-a-figure-on-a-soccer/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [I would like to try to write poetry that would do everything I wanted poems to do, but also be readable by any person.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/i-would-like-to-try-to-write-poetry-that-would-do-everything-i-wanted/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [“Suddenly, he wanted some credit for it. 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I wanted people to listen whenever I talked about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-law/i-wanted-to-be-successful-enough-that-i-d-have-opportunities-to-talk/) [Vernon Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-law/) > [I wanted to be successful, not famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-wanted-to-be-successful-not-famous/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [“One thing I learned there on that beautiful front porch was if I wanted to be successful, if I wanted to do important work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-gaines/one-thing-i-learned-there-on-that-beautiful-front-porch-was-if-i/) [Chip Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-gaines/) > [I always just wanted to be successful. I didn't know what it was, what I was going to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-woodland/i-always-just-wanted-to-be-successful-i-didn-t-know-what-it-was-what/) [Gary Woodland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-woodland/) ## 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 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/) > [I have no precise idea of who makes up my readership. I'm surprised when I discover people have read my poems at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-have-no-precise-idea-of-who-makes-up-my-readership-i-m-surprised/) [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. 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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 Being successful quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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There are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blair-hull/also-it-s-not-the-mathematical-skill-that-s-critical-to-winning-it-s/) Blair Hull [Browse all 1,002 Being successful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One cannot have \"success\" in poetry. 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