--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I read more and more - and it was not…" description: "\"As I read more and more - and it was not all verse, by any means - my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/dylan-thomas-1889_life_as-i-read-more-and-more-and-it-was-not-a_2720299.jpg" --- # As I read more and more - and it was not all verse, by any… ![“As I read more and more - and it was not all verse, by any means - my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them and in them, always. I knew, in fact, that I must be a writer of words, and nothing else.” quote by Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/dylan-thomas-1889_life_as-i-read-more-and-more-and-it-was-not-a_2720299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/dylan-thomas-1889_life_as-i-read-more-and-more-and-it-was-not-a_2720299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/dylan-thomas-1889_life_as-i-read-more-and-more-and-it-was-not-a_2720299.jpg) > “As I read more and more - and it was not all verse, by any means - my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them and in them, always. I knew, in fact, that I must be a writer of words, and nothing else.” [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep love for words compels one to live within them, committing to a writer's life. **In simple terms:** Words compel a writer's life. Key Takeaway Embrace writing as a vocation. Themes art writing identity Mood reflective passionate Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - daily journaling - publishing Key Concepts Literary devotion creative immersion Questions to Reflect On - How do words shape your identity? - What sacrifices does a writer make? A Different Perspective Writing may limit other life experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verse/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A man is a writer if all his words are strung in definite sentence sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/a-man-is-a-writer-if-all-his-words-are-strung-in-definite-sentence/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [He was a writer and words were his weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/he-was-a-writer-and-words-were-his-weapons/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [What a great thing! To be a writer! Words are something you can carry in your head. You can really 'travel light.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/what-a-great-thing-to-be-a-writer-words-are-something-you-can-carry/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [I had, never been, A writer. My words, My thoughts, My feelings, Had always flowed, From my lips. And yet now, They simply flow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/i-had-never-been-a-writer-my-words-my-thoughts-my-feelings-had-always/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [“It’s not very often that a writer’s words can punch through the paper and throttle the lifeblood out of you, but Tony’s words manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-o-neill/it-s-not-very-often-that-a-writer-s-words-can-punch-through-the-paper/) [Tony O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-o-neill/) > [His writer's words poured over her like poetry, and she couldn't find a single wisecrack to put up between them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/his-writer-s-words-poured-over-her-like-poetry-and-she-couldn-t-find/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [As a ghost writer, many words I have written have been for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leong/as-a-ghost-writer-many-words-i-have-written-have-been-for-someone-else/) [Melissa Leong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leong/) > [“I'm an alien in my own world, a writer without words, a musician without a piano, a magician without a wand. I am fooled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/i-m-an-alien-in-my-own-world-a-writer-without-words-a-musician/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [An artist who makes pictures that look good but express nothing is like a writer whose words sound good but have no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brommer/an-artist-who-makes-pictures-that-look-good-but-express-nothing-is/) [Gerald Brommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brommer/) > [“You know you're a writer when the words don't stop!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-middleton/you-know-you-re-a-writer-when-the-words-don-t-stop/) Joyce Middleton > [“You're a writer, though. Your words are malleable, replaceable, and by definition untrustworthy. they mean nothing to you and that's what I'm afraid I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/you-re-a-writer-though-your-words-are-malleable-replaceable-and-by/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [And I'm a slow writer: five, six hundred words is a good day. That's the reason it took me 20 years to write those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/and-i-m-a-slow-writer-five-six-hundred-words-is-a-good-day-that-s-the/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [“Don't let yourself be amazed by the imagination of a writer and his words, writers are almost all the time in a love-hate relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/don-t-let-yourself-be-amazed-by-the-imagination-of-a-writer-and-his/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“The writer whose words are going to be read by children has a heavy responsibility. And yet, despite the undeniable fact that the children’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/the-writer-whose-words-are-going-to-be-read-by-children-has-a-heavy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“What do we do while we wait for my parents to find Jersey?” She let him go, took a step back. “We live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-c-blake/what-do-we-do-while-we-wait-for-my-parents-to-find-jersey-she-let-him/) [K.C. Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-c-blake/) ## More by Dylan Thomas > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [There is only one position for an artist anywhere; and that is upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/there-is-only-one-position-for-an-artist-anywhere-and-that-is-upright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Thousands of miles,' I said. It's Rhosilli, USA. We're going to camp on a bit of rock that wobbles in the winds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/thousands-of-miles-i-said-it-s-rhosilli-usa-we-re-going-to-camp-on-a/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/one-christmas-was-so-much-like-another-in-those-years-around-the-sea/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-hold-a-beast-an-angel-and-a-madman-in-me-and-my-enquiry-is-as-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Youth calls to age across the tired years: 'What have you found,' he cries, 'what have you sought?" 'What have you found,' age answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/youth-calls-to-age-across-the-tired-years-what-have-you-found-he/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Do not go gentle into that goodnight, rage, rage against the dying of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-goodnight-rage-rage-against-the-dying-of/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [To begin, at the beginning...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/to-begin-at-the-beginning/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [A born writer is born scrofulous; his career is an accident dictated by physical or circumstantial disabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/a-born-writer-is-born-scrofulous-his-career-is-an-accident-dictated/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Rhianon, he said, hold my hand, Rhianon. She did not hear him, but stood over his bed and fixed him with an unbroken sorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/rhianon-he-said-hold-my-hand-rhianon-she-did-not-hear-him-but-stood/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I know in London a Welsh hairdresser who has striven so vehemently to abolish his accent that he sounds like a man speaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-know-in-london-a-welsh-hairdresser-who-has-striven-so-vehemently-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Dark is a way and light is a place, Heaven that never was Nor will be ever is always true "Poem on His Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/dark-is-a-way-and-light-is-a-place-heaven-that-never-was-nor-will-be/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [And now, gentlemen, like your manners, I must leave you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/and-now-gentlemen-like-your-manners-i-must-leave-you/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Now behind the eyes and secrets of the dreamers in the streets rocked to sleep by the sea, see the titbits and topsyturvies, bobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/now-behind-the-eyes-and-secrets-of-the-dreamers-in-the-streets-rocked/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I believe in New Yorkers. Whether they’ve ever questioned the dream in which they live, I wouldn’t know, because I won’t ever dare ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-believe-in-new-yorkers-whether-they-ve-ever-questioned-the-dream-in/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) [Explore all 201 Dylan Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As I read more and more - and it was not all verse, by any means - my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them and in them, always. 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