--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're going to write, write one poem…" description: "\"If you're going to write, write one poem all your life, let nobody read it, and then burn it. This is very young thinking, I confess, but it is the sem..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/293/jack-nicholson-1283_ifs_if-you-re-going-to-write-write-one-poem_3202935.jpg" --- # If you're going to write, write one poem all your life… ![“If you're going to write, write one poem all your life, let nobody read it, and then burn it. This is very young thinking, I confess, but it is the seminal part of my life.” quote by Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/293/jack-nicholson-1283_ifs_if-you-re-going-to-write-write-one-poem_3202935.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/293/jack-nicholson-1283_ifs_if-you-re-going-to-write-write-one-poem_3202935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/293/jack-nicholson-1283_ifs_if-you-re-going-to-write-write-one-poem_3202935.jpg) > “If you're going to write, write one poem all your life, let nobody read it, and then burn it. This is very young thinking, I confess, but it is the seminal part of my life.” [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## 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 urges total artistic privacy, suggesting creation for its own sake, not audience approval, and a dramatic rejection of external validation. **In simple terms:** Create for yourself, ignore others, and destroy the work if needed. Key Takeaway Embrace private creation and let go of fame. Themes artistic integrity privacy creative freedom Mood reflective defiant introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - personal journaling - private art projects Key Concepts existentialism self-actualization Questions to Reflect On - Do you create without audience in mind? - What would you lose by sharing your private work? A Different Perspective Potential isolation and loss of constructive feedback may hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Going Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-write-235070/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poem Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-life-1224034/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-poem-290726/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-bringing-a-child-into-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [When you write, don't say, "I'm going to write a poem." That attitude will freeze you right away. Sit down with the least expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-write-don-t-say-i-m-going-to-write-a-poem-that-attitude-will/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Bad poetry is caused by people who sit down and think, Now I am going to write a Poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bad-poetry-is-caused-by-people-who-sit-down-and-think-now-i-am-going/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“My Poem is life, and not finished. It shall never be finished. My Poem is life, and can grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/my-poem-is-life-and-not-finished-it-shall-never-be-finished-my-poem/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [“I’ve only written one decent poem in my life called “Lizard up My Leg”: A lizard up my leg gave me a fright Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-rubin/i-ve-only-written-one-decent-poem-in-my-life-called-lizard-up-my-leg/) [Danny Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-rubin/) > [A poem's life and death dependeth still Not on the poet's wits, but reader's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-brome/a-poem-s-life-and-death-dependeth-still-not-on-the-poet-s-wits-but/) [Alexander Brome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-brome/) > [I want to make a poem of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/i-want-to-make-a-poem-of-my-life/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“Sit here, so I may write you into a poem and make you eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/sit-here-so-i-may-write-you-into-a-poem-and-make-you-eternal/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Its not easy to write a poem about a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/its-not-easy-to-write-a-poem-about-a-poem/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Poetry was one of the things that interested me most as I was growing up. I used to write it in my head all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poetry-was-one-of-the-things-that-interested-me-most-as-i-was-growing/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [My father, Eric Trethewey, is a poet, so I had one right inside the house. And on long trips, he'd tell me, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/my-father-eric-trethewey-is-a-poet-so-i-had-one-right-inside-the/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [A person sets out to write a poem for a variety of reasons: to win the heart of his beloved; to express his attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/a-person-sets-out-to-write-a-poem-for-a-variety-of-reasons-to-win-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Weirdly, it's much easier to write a poem than a film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/weirdly-it-s-much-easier-to-write-a-poem-than-a-film/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [“How to Write a Poem Catch the air around the butterfly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katerina-stoykova-klemer/how-to-write-a-poem-catch-the-air-around-the-butterfly/) [Katerina Stoykova Klemer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katerina-stoykova-klemer/) > [“To write a poem...to paint an image on canvass from the contemplation of nature and life...is to be present again in this world more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deeper-sense-of-presence-isabella-koldras/to-write-a-poem-to-paint-an-image-on-canvass-from-the-contemplation/) [Deeper sense of presence Isabella koldras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deeper-sense-of-presence-isabella-koldras/) ## More by Jack Nicholson > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Women are sort of like motorcycle gangs with me. They get really shy and polite. I don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/women-are-sort-of-like-motorcycle-gangs-with-me-they-get-really-shy/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I love writing, but I stopped because I felt I was more effective approaching filmmaking from a different vantage point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-love-writing-but-i-stopped-because-i-felt-i-was-more-effective/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've been too many places. 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Getting out of a hotel room at 4am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-most-difficult-thing-about-being-well-known-getting-out-of-a/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [ He \[Castro\] is a genius. We spoke about everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/he-castro-is-a-genius-we-spoke-about-everything/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've always had an urge to feed my need to have fun and feel free. I don't see any interesting alternatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-ve-always-had-an-urge-to-feed-my-need-to-have-fun-and-feel-free-i/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Take caution in your tone, commander. I'm a fair man, but this -- heat is making me absolutely crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/take-caution-in-your-tone-commander-i-m-a-fair-man-but-this-heat-is/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The stage has a certain discipline. But the ultimate standard is more exacting in film, because you have to see yourself and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-stage-has-a-certain-discipline-but-the-ultimate-standard-is-more/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Comedy is much harder, it's a lot more exacting. 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