--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Still, language is resilient, and poetry…" description: "\"Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.\" — Diane Wakoski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png" --- # Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is… ![“Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.” quote by Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png) > “Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.” [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When pressure mounts, poetry retreats from the surface, persisting in hidden forms. **In simple terms:** Poetry hides under pressure. Key Takeaway Embrace hidden expression. Themes resilience art subversion Mood reflective defiant Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - activism - writing under oppression - secret art projects Key Concepts Underground movement censorship creative survival Questions to Reflect On - How does suppression shape artistic voice? - What are healthy ways to nurture hidden creativity? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering as necessary for art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Resilient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resilient/) ## Related quotes > [Preppy never goes away. It just has its moment every 15 years, and then it goes back underground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bastian/preppy-never-goes-away-it-just-has-its-moment-every-15-years-and-then/) [Michael Bastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bastian/) > [The abuser knows where you work. Even if a woman goes underground at night, the abuser knows where to find her during the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-campbell/the-abuser-knows-where-you-work-even-if-a-woman-goes-underground-at/) [Gordon Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-campbell/) > [There's just so much negative media surrounding professional athletes or sports in general, whether it's kids that are pressured too much or professional athletes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristopher-belman/there-s-just-so-much-negative-media-surrounding-professional-athletes/) Kristopher Belman > [“You don’t have to be enough for me or anyone. I love you as you are. I don’t want you to ever feel pressured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/you-don-t-have-to-be-enough-for-me-or-anyone-i-love-you-as-you-are-i/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [Working on TV shows was fun, but I felt crazy pressured and stressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finneas/working-on-tv-shows-was-fun-but-i-felt-crazy-pressured-and-stressed/) [Finneas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finneas/) > [I felt pressured once in a movie, but there's no way to escape it, whether you're in the spotlight or not. Sometimes I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-moore/i-felt-pressured-once-in-a-movie-but-there-s-no-way-to-escape-it/) [Mandy Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-moore/) > [The business of both parent and teacher is to enable and to help the child to educate himself, to develop his own intellectual, moral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/the-business-of-both-parent-and-teacher-is-to-enable-and-to-help-the/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [As coal pressured into pearls by our weighty existence. Beauty that arose out of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/as-coal-pressured-into-pearls-by-our-weighty-existence-beauty-that/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I mean, I look at my dad. He was twenty when he started having a family, and he was always the coolest dad. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-mean-i-look-at-my-dad-he-was-twenty-when-he-started-having-a-family/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [Feminism means believing that everybody should be treated equally regardless of their sex. Which happens to include the right to wear whatever you want,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bates/feminism-means-believing-that-everybody-should-be-treated-equally/) [Laura Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bates/) > [ I think 'Elbow' were considered successful even before \[2008's\] Seldom Seen Kid because we were living off the band. We have a great manager… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-garvey/i-think-elbow-were-considered-successful-even-before-2008-s-seldom/) [Guy Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-garvey/) > [I hate being pressured. I hate when someone gets in my personal area. That's why I do it to everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-beverley/i-hate-being-pressured-i-hate-when-someone-gets-in-my-personal-area/) [Patrick Beverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-beverley/) > [“They are boiling with the pressured energy of explosive forces confined in a small space, and with the fervor of all religious movements in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/they-are-boiling-with-the-pressured-energy-of-explosive-forces/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I don't want you to feel pressured. Or overpowered. But I do, absolutely, want to kiss you right now. Badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-want-you-to-feel-pressured-or-overpowered-but-i-do-absolutely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) ## More by Diane Wakoski > [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/) > [Learning to live what you're born with is the process, the involvement, the making of a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/learning-to-live-what-you-re-born-with-is-the-process-the-involvement/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [“Uneasy Rider" Falling in love with a mustache is like saying you can fall in love with the way a man polishes his shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/uneasy-rider-falling-in-love-with-a-mustache-is-like-saying-you-can/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be part of American cultural myth and thus they figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/from-reading-a-previous-answer-you-know-that-i-consider-all-those/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [American poetry is always about defining oneself individually,claiming one's right to be different and often to break taboos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/american-poetry-is-always-about-defining-oneself-individually/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [Distinctly American poetry is usually written in the context of one's geographic landscape, sometimes out of one's cultural myths, and often with reference to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/distinctly-american-poetry-is-usually-written-in-the-context-of-one-s/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [American poetry, like American painting, is always personal with an emphasis on the individuality of the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/american-poetry-like-american-painting-is-always-personal-with-an/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [I think that's what poetry does. It allows people to come together and identify with a common thing that is outside of themselves, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-think-that-s-what-poetry-does-it-allows-people-to-come-together-and/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [I definitely wish to distinguish American poetry from British or other English language poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-definitely-wish-to-distinguish-american-poetry-from-british-or/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [So, I've never been politically correct, even before that term was available to us, and I have really identified with other people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/so-i-ve-never-been-politically-correct-even-before-that-term-was/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [What line breaks add to prose prosody is a connection between eye and ear which emphasizes the nature of the language by ... creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/what-line-breaks-add-to-prose-prosody-is-a-connection-between-eye-and/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [I am not political as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-am-not-political-as-a-person/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [There are rituals not structures for being a poet, drinking too much, taking too many drugs, being a lady chaser, having your nervous breakdown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/there-are-rituals-not-structures-for-being-a-poet-drinking-too-much/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [I write in the first person because I have always wanted to make my life more interesting than it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-write-in-the-first-person-because-i-have-always-wanted-to-make-my/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [Because, in fact, women, feminists, do read my poetry, and they read it often with the power of their political interpretation. I don't care;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/because-in-fact-women-feminists-do-read-my-poetry-and-they-read-it/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) [Explore all 43 Diane Wakoski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diane Wakoski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-when-it-is-pressured-simply/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-when-it-is-pressured-simply/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/diane-wakoski-15416_language_still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-w_1147967.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.” — Diane Wakoski", "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": "Diane Wakoski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Still, language is resilient, and poetry...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-when-it-is-pressured-simply/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/still-language-is-resilient-and-poetry-when-it-is-pressured-simply/#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 } } ] } ```