--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My dedication to trying to be a poet…" description: "\"My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very young, and I was very well encouraged by good teachers and by older friends and so on, so I thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg" --- # My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very… ![“My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very young, and I was very well encouraged by good teachers and by older friends and so on, so I think it is a benediction, and I also think it is a calling, a duty.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg) > “My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very young, and I was very well encouraged by good teachers and by older friends and so on, so I think it is a benediction, and I also think it is a calling, a duty.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry is seen as a vocation and a blessing, cultivated by mentorship and communal encouragement. **In simple terms:** Poetry is a calling nurtured by community. Key Takeaway Embrace poetry as a shared duty. Themes art calling mentorship community creativity Mood inspired reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - teaching poetry - public readings Key Concepts literary vocation cultural heritage Questions to Reflect On - Who can benefit from poetic mentorship? - How does community shape artistic purpose? A Different Perspective May feel elitist if exclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dedication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedication/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Good teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-teacher/) [Older friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-friends/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not trying to be a poet on Twitter; I'm trying to be aware of the fact that a very simple sentence, well written,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-m-not-trying-to-be-a-poet-on-twitter-i-m-trying-to-be-aware-of-the/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [I never meant to be a full-time poet: I started out as a gardener, an ideal job for a poet because your head is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/i-never-meant-to-be-a-full-time-poet-i-started-out-as-a-gardener-an/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [Before I was ever a poet, my father was writing poems about me, so it was a turning of the tables when I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/before-i-was-ever-a-poet-my-father-was-writing-poems-about-me-so-it/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [Robert Frost really started this whole thing rolling. He was, I believe, the first poet who started going to colleges. Before that, poets didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/robert-frost-really-started-this-whole-thing-rolling-he-was-i-believe/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I always played games with my friends, but as I got older, my friends stopped playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-played-games-with-my-friends-but-as-i-got-older-my-friends/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [As I get older and I see all my friends starting to have children, I see them have different reactions to the material that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/as-i-get-older-and-i-see-all-my-friends-starting-to-have-children-i/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [From what I understand from talking with older friends and feminists, I think that once I enter the workforce and start to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-zeilinger/from-what-i-understand-from-talking-with-older-friends-and-feminists/) [Julie Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-zeilinger/) > [It's healthy to have older friends. You go, 'Look, I'm younger than them!' That's always the nice thing, if you can be the youngest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/it-s-healthy-to-have-older-friends-you-go-look-i-m-younger-than-them/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [It's good to have some older friends: they have a lot more experience than us young ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-sane/it-s-good-to-have-some-older-friends-they-have-a-lot-more-experience/) [Leroy Sane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-sane/) > [I was home-schooled and I graduated super-early. But I've always had older friends, so I got to go to all their dances. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-pieterse/i-was-home-schooled-and-i-graduated-super-early-but-i-ve-always-had/) [Sasha Pieterse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-pieterse/) > [I had a lot of older friends when I was a kid, from sort of all walks of life, and that's still the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dreymon/i-had-a-lot-of-older-friends-when-i-was-a-kid-from-sort-of-all-walks/) [Alexander Dreymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dreymon/) > [As we grow older, friends only gather during these 2 times; marriage and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-grow-older-friends-only-gather-during-these-2-times-marriage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try not to worry. I've got a few older friends and I always hear them going, 'How old? 26? Ah, you're a baby',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-cole/i-try-not-to-worry-i-ve-got-a-few-older-friends-and-i-always-hear/) [Cheryl Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-cole/) > [I just happen to be from the generation that, like a lot of my older friends, started out writing letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-just-happen-to-be-from-the-generation-that-like-a-lot-of-my-older/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [As one of my older friends says, "Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be." Let's take a stab at it, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/as-one-of-my-older-friends-says-nostalgia-just-isn-t-what-it-used-to/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Dedication quotes > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Erase from your mind that your preparation must be perfect. Hard work + dedication = a shot at your dreams. Keep believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-goucher/erase-from-your-mind-that-your-preparation-must-be-perfect-hard-work/) [Kara Goucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-goucher/) > [If you're going to preach dedication, work ethic, teamwork, unselfishness, and being part of a team to accomplish a common goal, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-mullin/if-you-re-going-to-preach-dedication-work-ethic-teamwork/) [Chris Mullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-mullin/) > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [You'll know you're amazing when you get devoted to making other people amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-ll-know-you-re-amazing-when-you-get-devoted-to-making-other/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) Chris Kirubi > [There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/there-are-only-two-options-regarding-commitment-you-re-either-in-or/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [I probably should've listened to Michael a year ago when he said that Charles will never win a championship because he doesn't show any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-pippen/i-probably-should-ve-listened-to-michael-a-year-ago-when-he-said-that/) [Scottie Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-pippen/) > [To be an entrepreneur, it just takes a lot of persistence, dedication, and drive. No matter what happens, you have to be wiling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-banerjee/to-be-an-entrepreneur-it-just-takes-a-lot-of-persistence-dedication/) [Jeet Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-banerjee/) > [U cant expect every1 to have as much dedication as u have..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/u-cant-expect-every1-to-have-as-much-dedication-as-u-have/) Hemantsmarty > [Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/now-it-is-time-to-sit-quiet-face-to-face-with-thee-and-to-sing/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“To move forward, one need only take the first step,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-neill/to-move-forward-one-need-only-take-the-first-step/) Chase Neill > [Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-jean-king/natural-talent-only-determines-the-limits-of-your-athletic-potential/) [Billie Jean King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-jean-king/) > [I was at Mount Tamalpais near San Francisco hiking when a boulder came hurling down the mountainside and smashed my left hand. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/i-was-at-mount-tamalpais-near-san-francisco-hiking-when-a-boulder/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [“Everything on this earth belongs to God and therefore the more your dedication draws you closer to him, the more you will draw closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/everything-on-this-earth-belongs-to-god-and-therefore-the-more-your/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Browse all 1,006 Dedication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very young, and I was very well encouraged by good teachers and by older friends and so on, so I think it is a benediction, and I also think it is a calling, a duty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Walcott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-started-very-very-young-and-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dedication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-started-very-very-young-and-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/derek-walcott-2220_dedication_my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-sta_2242473.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My dedication to trying to be a poet started very, very young, and I was very well encouraged by good…” — Derek Walcott", "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": "Derek Walcott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My dedication to trying to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-started-very-very-young-and-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-dedication-to-trying-to-be-a-poet-started-very-very-young-and-i/#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 } } ] } ```