--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I treat myself as one of the sources…" description: "\"I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my ow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png" --- # I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think… ![“I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my own poems obsessively.” quote by Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png) > “I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my own poems obsessively.” [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker sees himself as both creator and critic of his own work, emphasizing self‑reflection and confidence in his poetic voice. **In simple terms:** He views himself as his own main source and critic. Key Takeaway Embrace self‑analysis and trust your own perspective. Themes self‑reflection creativity confidence Mood introspective confident Type personal literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - creative retreats - literary criticism Key Concepts authorial voice self‑critique identity Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑critique improve your work? - When might external perspectives be necessary? A Different Perspective May overlook external feedback and become echo‑chambered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accurate Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accurate-poets-1805197/) [Obsessively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessively/) [Poems Obsessively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-obsessively-1805196/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Poets Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-read-707967/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know if younger poets read a lot of, you know, the poets - the established poets. There was a lot of pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adamson/i-don-t-know-if-younger-poets-read-a-lot-of-you-know-the-poets-the/) [Robert Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adamson/) > [The works of great poets have never been read by mankind, for only great poets can read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-works-of-great-poets-have-never-been-read-by-mankind-for-only/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Fiction is in danger of becoming a kind of poetry. Only other poets read it. Only other fiction writers care about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/fiction-is-in-danger-of-becoming-a-kind-of-poetry-only-other-poets/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The works of the great poets have never yet been read by mankind, for only great poets can read them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-works-of-the-great-poets-have-never-yet-been-read-by-mankind-for-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Wouldn’t it be more important to teach the least powerful? To help them make the most of what they do have? Should we teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/wouldn-t-it-be-more-important-to-teach-the-least-powerful-to-help/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“The works of the great poets have never yet been read by mankind, for only great poets can read them. Most men have learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thoreau-henry-david/the-works-of-the-great-poets-have-never-yet-been-read-by-mankind-for/) [Thoreau Henry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thoreau-henry-david/) > [All poets who, when reading from their own works,m experience a choked feeling, are major. For that matter, all poets who read from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/all-poets-who-when-reading-from-their-own-works-m-experience-a-choked/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I get a huge energy transfusion from listening to poets read their works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-cavalieri/i-get-a-huge-energy-transfusion-from-listening-to-poets-read-their/) [Grace Cavalieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-cavalieri/) > [The only people who still read poetry are poets, and they mostly read their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/the-only-people-who-still-read-poetry-are-poets-and-they-mostly-read/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [I worked privately, and sometimes I feel that might be better for poets than the kind of social workshop gathering. My school was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-worked-privately-and-sometimes-i-feel-that-might-be-better-for/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“It is disappointing how people tend not to read a broad range of material. When the poets only read poetry, the historians only read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-leskov/it-is-disappointing-how-people-tend-not-to-read-a-broad-range-of/) [Anthony Leskov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-leskov/) > [“Is it that important? Wouldn’t it be more important to teach the least powerful? To help them make the most of what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/is-it-that-important-wouldn-t-it-be-more-important-to-teach-the-least/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [ “\[poems are\] crystals deposited after the effervescent contact of the spirit with reality. (cristaux deposes apres l'effervescent contact de l'esprit avec la realite)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-reverdy/poems-are-crystals-deposited-after-the-effervescent-contact-of-the/) [Pierre Reverdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-reverdy/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/defeat-furnishes-good-material-to-the-poets-and-the-artists-but-none/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) ## More by Dan Chiasson > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [I was never trying to be funny. Being funny feels to me like an alternate form of confessionality - that is, a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-was-never-trying-to-be-funny-being-funny-feels-to-me-like-an/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [I write to get myself writing. That and read Wallace Stevens' "An Ordinary Evening in New Haven" for the umpteenth time. Certain authors for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-write-to-get-myself-writing-that-and-read-wallace-stevens-an/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [The issue is that when you're a critic it's hard to tell the difference between the thrill of denouncing and telling the truth. Telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/the-issue-is-that-when-you-re-a-critic-it-s-hard-to-tell-the/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [One problem with writing on the computer, as I do, is that the page is never really 'blank." It is backed by all this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/one-problem-with-writing-on-the-computer-as-i-do-is-that-the-page-is/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“If you can orbit the planet, why can't you see what makes the human heart happy? Is it art or is it sex? Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/if-you-can-orbit-the-planet-why-can-t-you-see-what-makes-the-human/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [I feel most myself when I'm reading, but by that I don't mean that I'm most comfortable when I'm reading. I feel most fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-feel-most-myself-when-i-m-reading-but-by-that-i-don-t-mean-that-i-m/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [The main thing in poetry criticism is that I have all these opinions, and I love having something to do with them. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/the-main-thing-in-poetry-criticism-is-that-i-have-all-these-opinions/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [It's often said that elephants are the most human of animals - there's something comical about their acquiescence, and tragic also. The long elephant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/it-s-often-said-that-elephants-are-the-most-human-of-animals-there-s/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The most significant events, Bishop seems to argue, are destined to remain outside the scope of description. It is perhaps their very status as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/the-most-significant-events-bishop-seems-to-argue-are-destined-to/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [I do care about the consequences of being negative toward people who are powerful. But I'm more afraid of not being taken seriously as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-do-care-about-the-consequences-of-being-negative-toward-people-who/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [If you are made for flight, intended for it, you had better find a pursuer, fast. Otherwise, all that fleeing is going nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/if-you-are-made-for-flight-intended-for-it-you-had-better-find-a/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [The events in America now have the quality of things you would find out about long after the fact, and think: if only we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/the-events-in-america-now-have-the-quality-of-things-you-would-find/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) [Explore all 14 Dan Chiasson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) ## More Poet quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“Without pain, poetry is not possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seerat/without-pain-poetry-is-not-possible/) [seerat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seerat/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The poet reminds men of their uniqueness and it is not necessary to possess the ultimate definition of this uniqueness. Even to speculate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-poet-reminds-men-of-their-uniqueness-and-it-is-not-necessary-to/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [“The poet is just like the fabled hunter who naps beside a tree, waiting for hares to break their skulls by running headlong into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gu-cheng/the-poet-is-just-like-the-fabled-hunter-who-naps-beside-a-tree/) [Gu Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gu-cheng/) > [Drill in exact translation is an excellent way of disposing the mind against that looseness and exaggeration with which the sensationalists have corrupted our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/drill-in-exact-translation-is-an-excellent-way-of-disposing-the-mind/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“A poet is someone who can pour light into a cup, then raise it to nourish your beautiful parched, holy mouth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/a-poet-is-someone-who-can-pour-light-into-a-cup-then-raise-it-to/) [Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/) > [Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/defeat-furnishes-good-material-to-the-poets-and-the-artists-but-none/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/poetry-and-preaching-do-not-go-well-together-when-the-preacher-mounts/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [“If you're a poet, you do something beautiful. I mean you're supposed to leave something beautiful after you get off the page and everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/if-you-re-a-poet-you-do-something-beautiful-i-mean-you-re-supposed-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [I've always written. When I was in school, the only teacher who ever liked me was my creative writing teacher. I used to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-ve-always-written-when-i-was-in-school-the-only-teacher-who-ever/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) [Browse all 4,584 Poet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most frequently is myself. I really do. I read my own poems obsessively.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chiasson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and-again-i-think-that-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Poet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and-again-i-think-that-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/dan-chiasson-33888_poet_i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and_165449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I treat myself as one of the sources. And, again, I think that’s accurate. One of the poets I read most…” — Dan Chiasson", "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": "Dan Chiasson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I treat myself as one of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and-again-i-think-that-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-treat-myself-as-one-of-the-sources-and-again-i-think-that-s/#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 } } ] } ```