--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are men who can write poetry, and…" description: "\"There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who can read balance sheets. The men who can read balance sheets cannot write.\" — Henry R. Luce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/henry-r-luce-33238_balance_there-are-men-who-can-write-poetry-and-t_944183.png" --- # There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who… ![“There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who can read balance sheets. The men who can read balance sheets cannot write.” quote by Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/henry-r-luce-33238_balance_there-are-men-who-can-write-poetry-and-t_944183.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/henry-r-luce-33238_balance_there-are-men-who-can-write-poetry-and-t_944183.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/henry-r-luce-33238_balance_there-are-men-who-can-write-poetry-and-t_944183.png) > “There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who can read balance sheets. The men who can read balance sheets cannot write.” [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) ## 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 contrasts creative poetic talent with analytical financial skill, implying a divide between artistic and technical abilities. **In simple terms:** Art and finance require different minds. Key Takeaway Recognize and value diverse skill sets. Themes creativity analysis skillsets Mood thoughtful analytical Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - business leadership - education - career counseling - team building Key Concepts artistic expression financial literacy Questions to Reflect On - How can we bridge artistic and analytical thinking? - What value does each skill bring? A Different Perspective Not all who can analyze lack creativity; many blend both. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balance sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance-sheets/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If it were not for poetry, few men would ever fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-it-were-not-for-poetry-few-men-would-ever-fall-in-love/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“If anyone comes to the gates of poetry and expects to become an adequate poet by acquiring expert knowledge of the subject without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-anyone-comes-to-the-gates-of-poetry-and-expects-to-become-an/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Angling is somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/angling-is-somewhat-like-poetry-men-are-to-be-born-so/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [It is difficult to get the news from poetry, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-is-difficult-to-get-the-news-from-poetry-yet-men-die-miserably/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Angling is somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so: I mean, with inclinations to it, though both may be heightened by discourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/angling-is-somewhat-like-poetry-men-are-to-be-born-so-i-mean-with/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [It's easier to teach a poet how to read a balance sheet than it is to teach an accountant how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/it-s-easier-to-teach-a-poet-how-to-read-a-balance-sheet-than-it-is-to/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [I ask for your indulgence when I march out quotations. This is the double syndrome of men who write for a living and men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-ask-for-your-indulgence-when-i-march-out-quotations-this-is-the/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [When someone like Kurt Cobain or Jack White comes out, they didn't go, "He sounds just like Muddy Waters," did they? They just said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shingai-shoniwa/when-someone-like-kurt-cobain-or-jack-white-comes-out-they-didn-t-go/) [Shingai Shoniwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shingai-shoniwa/) > [“Men write great romance because they have more at stake”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-bayliss/men-write-great-romance-because-they-have-more-at-stake/) PJ Bayliss > [When men write women, they tend to write women the way they want women to be, or the way they resent women for being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/when-men-write-women-they-tend-to-write-women-the-way-they-want-women/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [Two temptations that impair the value of their work inevitably beset public men who write memoirs. One is a tendency to reconstruct the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/two-temptations-that-impair-the-value-of-their-work-inevitably-beset/) [Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/) > [History -- its what those bitter old men write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-its-what-those-bitter-old-men-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's always been part of my goal - to show the dark side of women. Men write about bad men all the time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/that-s-always-been-part-of-my-goal-to-show-the-dark-side-of-women-men/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The men who act stand nearer to the mass of man than the men who write; and it is in their hands that new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-men-who-act-stand-nearer-to-the-mass-of-man-than-the-men-who/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [“Men may write fictions portraying lowly life as it is, or as it is not—may expatiate with owlish gravity upon the bliss of ignorance—discourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-northup/men-may-write-fictions-portraying-lowly-life-as-it-is-or-as-it-is-not/) [Solomon Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-northup/) ## More by Henry R. Luce > [Of necessity, we made the discovery that it is easier to turn poets into business journalists than to turn bookkeepers into writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/of-necessity-we-made-the-discovery-that-it-is-easier-to-turn-poets/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [The world of the 20th century, if it is to come to life in any viability of health and vigor, must be to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/the-world-of-the-20th-century-if-it-is-to-come-to-life-in-any/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [To see life. To see the world. To watch the faces of the poor, and the gestures of the proud. To see strange things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/to-see-life-to-see-the-world-to-watch-the-faces-of-the-poor-and-the/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Journalism is the art of collecting varying kinds of information (commonly called news) which a few people possess and of transmitting it to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/journalism-is-the-art-of-collecting-varying-kinds-of-information/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Publishing is a business, but journalism never was and is not essentially a business. Nor is it a profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/publishing-is-a-business-but-journalism-never-was-and-is-not/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [It's easier to teach a poet how to read a balance sheet than it is to teach an accountant how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/it-s-easier-to-teach-a-poet-how-to-read-a-balance-sheet-than-it-is-to/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/business-more-than-any-other-occupation-is-a-continual-dealing-with/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [I urge each of you to think seriously about the vision Dr. Daniel puts forth and think about what you can do to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/i-urge-each-of-you-to-think-seriously-about-the-vision-dr-daniel-puts/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [“ became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/became-a-journalist-to-come-as-close-as-possible-to-the-heart-of-the/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [I am all for titillating trivialities. I am all for the epic touch. I could almost say that everything in Time, should be either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/i-am-all-for-titillating-trivialities-i-am-all-for-the-epic-touch-i/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Show me a man who claims he is objective and I'll show you a man with illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/show-me-a-man-who-claims-he-is-objective-and-i-ll-show-you-a-man-with/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [I suggest that what we want to do is not to leave to posterity a great institution, but to leave behind a great tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/i-suggest-that-what-we-want-to-do-is-not-to-leave-to-posterity-a/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [To see, and to show, is the mission now undertaken by Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/to-see-and-to-show-is-the-mission-now-undertaken-by-life/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Not much longer shall we have time for reading lessons of the past. An inexorable present calls us to the defense of a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-luce/not-much-longer-shall-we-have-time-for-reading-lessons-of-the-past-an/) [Henry R. Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) [Explore all 15 Henry R. Luce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who can read balance sheets. The men who can read balance sheets cannot write.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry R. 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