--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't read to yourself. It's your…" description: "\"You can't read to yourself. It's your inner ear that hears a poem. If you hear a poet read his own work, it becomes very exciting. The melody is a grea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/derek-walcott-2220_books_you-can-t-read-to-yourself-it-s-your-inn_1880022.jpg" --- # You can't read to yourself. It's your inner ear that hears… ![“You can't read to yourself. It's your inner ear that hears a poem. If you hear a poet read his own work, it becomes very exciting. The melody is a great part of it.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/derek-walcott-2220_books_you-can-t-read-to-yourself-it-s-your-inn_1880022.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/derek-walcott-2220_books_you-can-t-read-to-yourself-it-s-your-inn_1880022.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/derek-walcott-2220_books_you-can-t-read-to-yourself-it-s-your-inn_1880022.jpg) > “You can't read to yourself. It's your inner ear that hears a poem. If you hear a poet read his own work, it becomes very exciting. The melody is a great part of it.” [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. Explains that poetry is heard internally, and hearing a poet read their work adds excitement through melody. **In simple terms:** Poetry lives in the mind; performance enhances it. Key Takeaway Listen deeply. Themes poetry performance perception Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary educational When to use this quote - reading aloud - literary workshops - personal reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does voice affect meaning? - What role does melody play? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [A poem, once it's written, is meant to be read with the inner voice of the person who reads it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-harrison/a-poem-once-it-s-written-is-meant-to-be-read-with-the-inner-voice-of/) [Tony Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-harrison/) > [I wouldn't be very happy if a poet read what I had written and said, 'What a peculiar thing to say about this work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/i-wouldn-t-be-very-happy-if-a-poet-read-what-i-had-written-and-said/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [“The wind you hear is the birth of memory when the moment hatches in time’s womb there will be no art talk. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keropatse-kgositsile/the-wind-you-hear-is-the-birth-of-memory-when-the-moment-hatches-in/) Keropatse Kgositsile > [“Love leads us to write poetry because love improves our hearing; like prayer, poetry is every bit as much about listening as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-patterson/love-leads-us-to-write-poetry-because-love-improves-our-hearing-like/) David Patterson > [To read a poem is to hear it with our eyes; to hear it is to see it with our ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/to-read-a-poem-is-to-hear-it-with-our-eyes-to-hear-it-is-to-see-it/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [A poet is not a public figure. A poet should be read and not seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-day-lewis/a-poet-is-not-a-public-figure-a-poet-should-be-read-and-not-seen/) [Cecil Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-day-lewis/) > [How far we are going to read a poet when we can read about a poet is a problem to lay before biographers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-far-we-are-going-to-read-a-poet-when-we-can-read-about-a-poet-is/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The way to become a poet is to read poetry and to imitate what you read and to read passionately and widely and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-way-to-become-a-poet-is-to-read-poetry-and-to-imitate-what-you/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [There has been a vast output of critical studies in contemporary poetry, some of them first rate, but I do not think that ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/there-has-been-a-vast-output-of-critical-studies-in-contemporary/) [W. 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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. 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