--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason his father has no time for…" description: "\"“The reason his father has no time for poetry is that he is afraid of the messiness of life. Poetry feeds on all that spills over the boundaries of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/elliot-perlman-14111_life_the-reason-his-father-has-no-time-for-po_2909399.jpg" --- # The reason his father has no time for poetry is that he is… ![“The reason his father has no time for poetry is that he is afraid of the messiness of life. Poetry feeds on all that spills over the boundaries of the usual things, the everyday things with which most people are obsessed, so William has no time for it.” quote by Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/elliot-perlman-14111_life_the-reason-his-father-has-no-time-for-po_2909399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/elliot-perlman-14111_life_the-reason-his-father-has-no-time-for-po_2909399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/elliot-perlman-14111_life_the-reason-his-father-has-no-time-for-po_2909399.jpg) > ““The reason his father has no time for poetry is that he is afraid of the messiness of life. Poetry feeds on all that spills over the boundaries of the usual things, the everyday things with which most people are obsessed, so William has no time for it.”” [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that fear of life's chaos prevents appreciation of poetry, which thrives on transcending ordinary concerns. **In simple terms:** Fear of messiness blocks poetic insight. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty to see beyond routine. Themes creativity fear mundane artistic expression Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - literary criticism - education - mental health awareness Key Concepts existentialism boundary crossing artistic sensitivity Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape your creative choices? - What everyday moments could become poetic? A Different Perspective Poetry can also be constrained by structure and discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-poetry/) [Obsessed William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessed-william-4181585/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-afraid-4181584/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-poetry/) [William Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-time-4181586/) ## Related quotes > [“Honestly, William, time ?' his mother had snapped. ' Distance ? Those things have nothing whatsoever to do with love. 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Her ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-alfonsi/sitting-with-some-of-the-other-members-of-the-scholastic-decathlon/) [Alice Alfonsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-alfonsi/) > [As long as the sun shall rise goes the old lover's vow, but we are children of a scientific age and have no time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/as-long-as-the-sun-shall-rise-goes-the-old-lover-s-vow-but-we-are/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The woods are lovely, dark, and deep but I have promises to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-woods-are-lovely-dark-and-deep-but-i-have-promises-to-keep/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [I realised I'd spent a lot of time in my poetry trying to find a way of talking about that whereof we cannot speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/i-realised-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-time-in-my-poetry-trying-to-find-a-way/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [I've never been able to write poetry without having vast tracts of dead time. 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All the rest of the world is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-ll-say-that-this-is-probably-the-best-time-for-poetry-since-the-t/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [This will be a good time for poetry, you know, when things get darker and stranger and your very speech is being questioned and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/this-will-be-a-good-time-for-poetry-you-know-when-things-get-darker/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When something is too beautiful or too terrible or even too funny for words, then it is time for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/when-something-is-too-beautiful-or-too-terrible-or-even-too-funny-for/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [ Poets are political, they have to be reflections of their times \[because\] they're living in their times... Poetry is political in that it's standing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/poets-are-political-they-have-to-be-reflections-of-their-times/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [No time for poetry but exactly what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/no-time-for-poetry-but-exactly-what-is/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The difference between prose logic and poetic thought is simple. The logician uses words as a builder uses bricks, for the unemotional deadness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-difference-between-prose-logic-and-poetic-thought-is-simple-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [But poetry is my life. Poetry is what matters to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/but-poetry-is-my-life-poetry-is-what-matters-to-me/) [Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/) > [“That’s the beauty of poetry,” I said. “That language is inadequate to describe life. So poetry just tries to bring up emotions. Just read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-methos/that-s-the-beauty-of-poetry-i-said-that-language-is-inadequate-to/) [Victor Methos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-methos/) ## More by Elliot Perlman > [You would love the way he sees you. He uses you as a weapon against himself and not merely because you did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/you-would-love-the-way-he-sees-you-he-uses-you-as-a-weapon-against/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“...Simon and I by then were practicing to be apart, rehearsing together in the same room and often in the same conversation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/simon-and-i-by-then-were-practicing-to-be-apart-rehearsing-together/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“When the words dance privately for you, it is possible to feel not alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/when-the-words-dance-privately-for-you-it-is-possible-to-feel-not/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“Madeline, my wife, never used to wear a watch. She does now, I am told. For a long time, in a very inexact way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/madeline-my-wife-never-used-to-wear-a-watch-she-does-now-i-am-told/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“…anyway it wasn’t your reading that started this. It was the laugher, the carefree laughter, the three dimensional Coca Cola advertisement that you were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/anyway-it-wasn-t-your-reading-that-started-this-it-was-the-laugher/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“While he recognized that you were unhappy and unwell, I think he couldn't help but feel that there was some part of you, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/while-he-recognized-that-you-were-unhappy-and-unwell-i-think-he/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“I asked her where she got her toughness. She pretended she didn't understand. 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At the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/why-did-i-start-with-them-why-do-any-of-us-choose-one-company-over/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [Listen- all that she was then, all that she is now, those gestures, everything I remember but won't or can't articulate anymore, the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/listen-all-that-she-was-then-all-that-she-is-now-those-gestures/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [It's like the smell of burned toast. You made the toast. You looked forward to it. You even enjoyed making it, but it burned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/it-s-like-the-smell-of-burned-toast-you-made-the-toast-you-looked/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [You know you're in love with somebody when you wake up next to them, comfortable despite your breath smelling like the week-old water at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/you-know-you-re-in-love-with-somebody-when-you-wake-up-next-to-them/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [ \[Memory\] visits when it is hungry, not when you are. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/memory-visits-when-it-is-hungry-not-when-you-are/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-smallest-place-inside-the/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) [Explore all 46 Elliot Perlman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“The reason his father has no time for poetry is that he is afraid of the messiness of life. 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