--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is the art of overhearing…" description: "\"Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.\" — David Whyte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg" --- # Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from… ![“Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.” quote by David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg) > “Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.” [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry forces us to confront inner truths that cannot be ignored, making self‑reflection inevitable **In simple terms:** Poetry makes us hear our unavoidable inner voice Key Takeaway Listen to your inner voice through poetry Themes self‑reflection truth art Mood thoughtful serene Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - Writing poetry - reading aloud - mindful meditation Key Concepts Existential introspection creative expression Questions to Reflect On - What truths do you avoid hearing? - How can poetry aid in confronting them? A Different Perspective Not all inner truths are comfortable to face ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Overhearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overhearing/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-often-the-art-of-overhearing-yourself-say-things-you-didn-t/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“In one experiment, for example, Latane and Darley had a student alone in a room stage an epileptic fit. When there was just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/in-one-experiment-for-example-latane-and-darley-had-a-student-alone/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [A poem is a private story, after all, no matter how apparently public. The reader is always overhearing a confession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorie-graham/a-poem-is-a-private-story-after-all-no-matter-how-apparently-public/) [Jorie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorie-graham/) > [I don't live with earplugs. I don't like the spotlight - but I like overhearing conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/i-don-t-live-with-earplugs-i-don-t-like-the-spotlight-but-i-like/) [Louise Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [“I don’t want to suggest that I was listening to or even overhearing the conversation the two of you were having. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-wallace/i-don-t-want-to-suggest-that-i-was-listening-to-or-even-overhearing/) [Daniel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-wallace/) > [“Even if she realized that they didn’t want her overhearing their conversation, she didn’t seem to care at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/even-if-she-realized-that-they-didn-t-want-her-overhearing-their/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [Overhearing people's conversations about art - that's always entertaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-rowley/overhearing-people-s-conversations-about-art-that-s-always/) [Cynthia Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-rowley/) > [“See, I always forget this about you," he says, and even now, long after we first lost our privacy, I can't help wondering who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/see-i-always-forget-this-about-you-he-says-and-even-now-long-after-we/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [I wanted to pack a lot into the lyric, but not go beyond its bounds. Some have written that I wanted to expand what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorie-graham/i-wanted-to-pack-a-lot-into-the-lyric-but-not-go-beyond-its-bounds/) [Jorie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorie-graham/) > [Poetry is not an art or a branch of art: it's something more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poetry-is-not-an-art-or-a-branch-of-art-it-s-something-more/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/what-other-people-may-find-in-poetry-or-art-museums-i-find-in-the/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [Poetry is that art which selects and arranges the symbols of thought in such a manner as to excite the imagination the most powerfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/poetry-is-that-art-which-selects-and-arranges-the-symbols-of-thought/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“It is perhaps, its ability to penetrate the multidimensional layers of the human condition at all, that makes poetry and art so valuable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atalina-wright/it-is-perhaps-its-ability-to-penetrate-the-multidimensional-layers-of/) [Atalina Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atalina-wright/) > [Poetry is the art of saying what you mean but disguising it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/poetry-is-the-art-of-saying-what-you-mean-but-disguising-it/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) ## More by David Whyte > [“The poet lives and writes at the frontier between deep internal experience and the revelations of the outer world. There is no going back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-poet-lives-and-writes-at-the-frontier-between-deep-internal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [I returned to poetry as a more precise way to describe the world, more precise than science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/i-returned-to-poetry-as-a-more-precise-way-to-describe-the-world-more/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What if the world is holding its breath - waiting for you to take the place that only you can fill?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-if-the-world-is-holding-its-breath-waiting-for-you-to-take-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What you plan is too small for you to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-you-plan-is-too-small-for-you-to-live/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“It is not the thing you fear that you must deal with, it is the mother of the thing you fear. The very thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/it-is-not-the-thing-you-fear-that-you-must-deal-with-it-is-the-mother/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [Heartbreak is our indication of sincerity: in a love relationship, in a work, in trying to learn a musical instrument, in the attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/heartbreak-is-our-indication-of-sincerity-in-a-love-relationship-in-a/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [The frail, vulnerable sounds of which we are capable seem to be essential to a later ability to roar like a lion without scaring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-frail-vulnerable-sounds-of-which-we-are-capable-seem-to-be/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-bringing-a-child-into-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“Work, like marriage, is a place you can lose yourself more easily perhaps than finding yourself. It is a place full of powerful undercurrents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/work-like-marriage-is-a-place-you-can-lose-yourself-more-easily/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [The moment you’ve uttered the exact dimensionality of your exile, you’re already turning towards home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-moment-you-ve-uttered-the-exact-dimensionality-of-your-exile-you/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“...wanting soul life without the dark, warming intelligence of personal doubt is like expecting an egg without the brooding heat of the mother hen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/wanting-soul-life-without-the-dark-warming-intelligence-of-personal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [It's my contention that there is no sincere path a human being can take without breaking his or her heart...so it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/it-s-my-contention-that-there-is-no-sincere-path-a-human-being-can/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“FINISTERRE The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken, into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/finisterre-the-road-in-the-end-taking-the-path-the-sun-had-taken-into/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“We can never know in the beginning, in giving ourselves to a person, to a work, to a marriage or to a cause, exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/we-can-never-know-in-the-beginning-in-giving-ourselves-to-a-person-to/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/when-your-eyes-are-tired-the-world-is-tired-also-when-your-vision-has/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) [Explore all 129 David Whyte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [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/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Whyte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselves-say-things-from-which-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselves-say-things-from-which-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/david-whyte-3502_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselv_848566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.” — David Whyte", "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": "David Whyte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poetry is the art of overhearing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselves-say-things-from-which-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselves-say-things-from-which-it/#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 } } ] } ```