--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I shut off the verbal, I like to…" description: "\"When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.\" — Elaine Equi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg" --- # When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the… ![“When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.” quote by Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg) > “When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.” [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She prefers visual imagination over verbal expression. **In simple terms:** Escapes into images when words stop. Key Takeaway Cultivate visual thinking. Themes creativity visual art language escape Mood introspective artistic Type poetic expressive When to use this quote - writing workshops - visual journaling - design brainstorming Key Concepts imagination sensory perception artistic process Questions to Reflect On - When do you choose images over words? - How does visual escape influence your work? A Different Perspective Relying solely on visuals may limit verbal articulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Escape Visual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-visual-5524196/) [Like Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-escape-2280870/) [Shut Verbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut-verbal-5524195/) [Verbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbal/) [Visuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visuals/) ## Related quotes > [I read books, but I do it because I want to - because it's like an escape in my head, like being with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-read-books-but-i-do-it-because-i-want-to-because-it-s-like-an/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [I'd go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didn't have to talk to anybody. Swimming was like my escape,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-beard/i-d-go-to-swim-practice-put-my-face-in-the-water-and-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Amanda Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-beard/) > [I don't think X-23's past is the most interesting thing about her, but it's not like she can escape it, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-don-t-think-x-23-s-past-is-the-most-interesting-thing-about-her-but/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [Fiction becomes visual by becoming verbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fiction-becomes-visual-by-becoming-verbal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pardon me if this all sounds corny, but when you put on a record, I'd like it to be an escape from everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/pardon-me-if-this-all-sounds-corny-but-when-you-put-on-a-record-i-d/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [I like to escape to hotels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boreanaz/i-like-to-escape-to-hotels/) [David Boreanaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boreanaz/) > [I just wanted to make music, because it's how I get stuff off my chest. I want it to always feel like my escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-wave/i-just-wanted-to-make-music-because-it-s-how-i-get-stuff-off-my-chest/) [Rod Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-wave/) > [I like to escape to the beach and kind of ground myself whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-reinhart/i-like-to-escape-to-the-beach-and-kind-of-ground-myself-whenever-i-can/) [Lili Reinhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-reinhart/) > [I make music cuz it's almost like I can escape everything I was involved in. All I gotta do is make music. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-make-music-cuz-it-s-almost-like-i-can-escape-everything-i-was/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [“I also like to escape inside their world, tucked behind their colorful spines. It forces me to fully invest my mind into what I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/i-also-like-to-escape-inside-their-world-tucked-behind-their-colorful/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [Being lost in books has to be one of the best feelings it's like you can escape reality and live in your own fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-lost-in-books-has-to-be-one-of-the-best-feelings-it-s-like-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“them from both sides, it looked like escape. Dan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/them-from-both-sides-it-looked-like-escape-dan/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [“If we only depend on what people say verbally, we're not even close to understand half of what is really going on. Go deeper!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/if-we-only-depend-on-what-people-say-verbally-we-re-not-even-close-to/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) > [When I work, I'm thinking in terms of purely visual effects and relations, and any verbal equivalent is something that comes afterwards. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/when-i-work-i-m-thinking-in-terms-of-purely-visual-effects-and/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > ['Constitutional' is just a real pip of a word. Positively rolls off the tongue. In fact, it's downright fun to say. 'Con-stit-too-shun-al.' It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/constitutional-is-just-a-real-pip-of-a-word-positively-rolls-off-the/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) ## More by Elaine Equi > [I can appreciate the idea that with e-books more people would publish, the work would be easier to disseminate, and that it could even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-can-appreciate-the-idea-that-with-e-books-more-people-would-publish/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I can never plan out what direction my poems will take in terms of either form or content. I wish I could but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-can-never-plan-out-what-direction-my-poems-will-take-in-terms-of/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [“Literary Lipsticks by Elaine Equi The Best American Poetry Red Wheelbarrow I Have Eaten the Plums Poppies in October Pink Christmas Red Weather A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/literary-lipsticks-by-elaine-equi-the-best-american-poetry-red/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [“Art is not an object, but a way of looking at an object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/art-is-not-an-object-but-a-way-of-looking-at-an-object/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/sometimes-you-get-lit-students-that-know-a-lot-about-the-canon-but/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I like being married to another writer. You get to trade ideas. You get to talk shop. You get to complain. You get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-like-being-married-to-another-writer-you-get-to-trade-ideas-you-get/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [In the past things were either in your head (subjective, imaginary, fantasy) or else they were part of the outside world - cold, hard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/in-the-past-things-were-either-in-your-head-subjective-imaginary/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I've always liked language and been a big reader. I always loved books as objects. My favorite time of year as a child was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-ve-always-liked-language-and-been-a-big-reader-i-always-loved-books/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. I love Joe Brainard and Aram Saroyan. And I think their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-tend-to-like-poems-that-are-short-as-well-as-funny-i-love-joe/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I never liked the philosophy that you can have everything and be everything and that something is wrong if you don't want that. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-never-liked-the-philosophy-that-you-can-have-everything-and-be/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [In a machine, every part has a function. In a poem, every word needs to be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/in-a-machine-every-part-has-a-function-in-a-poem-every-word-needs-to/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I like to look at the interface between words and pictures and wonder about which comes first, a sort of chicken-or-egg type of question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-like-to-look-at-the-interface-between-words-and-pictures-and-wonder/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-think-the-more-stability-a-person-has-the-more-they-can-follow/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [I have a lot of respect for advertising. If I didn't teach and could go back in time, I might try and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/i-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-advertising-if-i-didn-t-teach-and-could/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [What I like best about teaching is that it allows me to explore my own interest with a group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/what-i-like-best-about-teaching-is-that-it-allows-me-to-explore-my/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) [Explore all 31 Elaine Equi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) ## More Escape quotes > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Music and sleep are two of the greatest ways to escape from everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-and-sleep-are-two-of-the-greatest-ways-to-escape-from-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Music is my escape from all the problems in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-cui/music-is-my-escape-from-all-the-problems-in-life/) [Kailin Cui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-cui/) > [Wherever you escape, the truth will find you! Always be prepared to meet with it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-you-escape-the-truth-will-find-you-always-be-prepared-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I think the best way to escape your head isn’t to think about things that aren’t real, it’s to think about things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-brooks/i-think-the-best-way-to-escape-your-head-isn-t-to-think-about-things/) [Ben Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-brooks/) > [“You could say she hid there, in the words, an escape within an escape...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aurelie-sheehan/you-could-say-she-hid-there-in-the-words-an-escape-within-an-escape/) [Aurelie Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aurelie-sheehan/) > [Life will drag us kicking and screaming to our destiny if we try to escape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/life-will-drag-us-kicking-and-screaming-to-our-destiny-if-we-try-to/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [How did you escape? (Syd) I fought my way out in a manner that would have made Rambo proud. And when I got home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/how-did-you-escape-syd-i-fought-my-way-out-in-a-manner-that-would/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There are reasons people seek escape in books, and one of those reasons is that the boundary of what can happen is beyond what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/there-are-reasons-people-seek-escape-in-books-and-one-of-those/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Well, I like to know where I'm going before I try to get there. It's a mistake to try to execute a plan before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/well-i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-before-i-try-to-get-there-it-s-a/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“If poetry is an escape into the woods, then music is the journey back home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-mandal/if-poetry-is-an-escape-into-the-woods-then-music-is-the-journey-back/) [Akash Mandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-mandal/) [Browse all 1,660 Escape quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elaine Equi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-escape-into-the-visual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Escape" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-escape-into-the-visual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/elaine-equi-20309_escape_when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-esc_696731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.” — Elaine Equi", "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": "Elaine Equi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I shut off the verbal,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-escape-into-the-visual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/when-i-shut-off-the-verbal-i-like-to-escape-into-the-visual/#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 } } ] } ```