--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like poems that immediately claim my…" description: "\"I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead of taking my attention for granted. At first read, I want to feel compelled to pick up the po..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg" --- # I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead… ![“I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead of taking my attention for granted. At first read, I want to feel compelled to pick up the poem again; I want to be curious about its byways and secret corners.” quote by James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg) > “I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead of taking my attention for granted. At first read, I want to feel compelled to pick up the poem again; I want to be curious about its byways and secret corners.” [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers poems that instantly captivate, urging repeated readings to explore hidden depths and nuances. **In simple terms:** Seek poems that grab attention and reward rereading. Key Takeaway Choose engaging poetry, explore its layers. Themes poetry engagement curiosity Mood enthusiastic contemplative Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing workshops - personal study Key Concepts literary analysis creative reading interpretation Questions to Reflect On - What makes a poem instantly compelling? - How do hidden layers affect your enjoyment? A Different Perspective Some poems require patience to appreciate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [A curious mind does not say to consumers "What do you want?" A curious mind understands context, understands behavior, understands spending and spending patterns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-silverstein/a-curious-mind-does-not-say-to-consumers-what-do-you-want-a-curious/) [Michael J. Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-silverstein/) > [I think my poems immediately come out of the sensuous and emotional experiences I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-think-my-poems-immediately-come-out-of-the-sensuous-and-emotional-2/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [We want to see ourselves as curious and open-minded and smart and understanding things in terms of context and nuance, but when someone tries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-want-to-see-ourselves-as-curious-and-open-minded-and-smart-and/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [The poem I want to write is impossible. A stone that floats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-poem-i-want-to-write-is-impossible-a-stone-that-floats/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“there are these places on your poem, / where I want to write bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/there-are-these-places-on-your-poem-where-i-want-to-write-bodies/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) > [I think my poems immediately come out of the sensuous and emotional experiences I have, but I must say I cannot sympathise with these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-think-my-poems-immediately-come-out-of-the-sensuous-and-emotional/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I like poems that affect me emotionally and also provoke me to further, deeper thought. I enjoy challenge, but not, I think, for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-like-poems-that-affect-me-emotionally-and-also-provoke-me-to/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Like all my poems, 'Negotiations' has several sources. It deals with aging lovers and the often silent deals they make. Thinking about bargains made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-all-my-poems-negotiations-has-several-sources-it-deals-with/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The world, once flat to his eyes, now bristled with edges and textures. He saw the tiny grooves of petals and leaves, like fingerprints,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-wilkins/the-world-once-flat-to-his-eyes-now-bristled-with-edges-and-textures/) Remy Wilkins > [“…girls were like poems: weird, incomprehensible and boring, but those “in the know” assured me that they were beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark/girls-were-like-poems-weird-incomprehensible-and-boring-but-those-in/) [Jake Vander Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark/) > [I don't like poems that invent memories, I have enough of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-don-t-like-poems-that-invent-memories-i-have-enough-of-my-own/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Like most of my poems, 'Lie' has several sources: I read a very troubling book called The Sixth Extinction. I took note of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-most-of-my-poems-lie-has-several-sources-i-read-a-very-troubling/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [I like poems that are complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-like-poems-that-are-complex/) [Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/) > [... mathematics is very much like poetry ... what makes a good poem -- a great poem -- is that there is a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lipman-bers/mathematics-is-very-much-like-poetry-what-makes-a-good-poem-a-great/) Lipman Bers > [If you can find two poems in a book, it could be a pretty good book for you. You know, two poems you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/if-you-can-find-two-poems-in-a-book-it-could-be-a-pretty-good-book/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) ## More by James Arthur > [Me and my mum didn't see eye-to-eye for a lot of years, and I've never really felt connected with my dad, because he wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/me-and-my-mum-didn-t-see-eye-to-eye-for-a-lot-of-years-and-i-ve-never/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I'm a mix; I'm sure some of my Canadian friends find me very American, both in person and on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-m-a-mix-i-m-sure-some-of-my-canadian-friends-find-me-very-american/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I often write from memory by walking around and talking to myself. Even when I'm working at a computer I write out loud, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-often-write-from-memory-by-walking-around-and-talking-to-myself/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I'd like to think that maybe the average person is rational, and they realise that I'm not this crazy monster that, at times, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-d-like-to-think-that-maybe-the-average-person-is-rational-and-they/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I had nothing and lived in the most insignificant place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-had-nothing-and-lived-in-the-most-insignificant-place/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [It can feel like your whole world is caving in on you, and if you don't speak about it, it gets worse. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/it-can-feel-like-your-whole-world-is-caving-in-on-you-and-if-you-don/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [If art doesn't require an audience, can an intimate conversation be a work of art? Can a thought be a work of art? Maybe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/if-art-doesn-t-require-an-audience-can-an-intimate-conversation-be-a/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [And treating poetry as a performing art emphasizes its ephemerality. A printed poem can be endlessly reprinted, photocopied, scanned, uploaded, cut and pasted -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/and-treating-poetry-as-a-performing-art-emphasizes-its-ephemerality-a/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I want each poem to be ambiguous enough that its meaning can shift, depending on the reader's own frame of reference, and depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-each-poem-to-be-ambiguous-enough-that-its-meaning-can-shift/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Memorizing the work of others definitely made me a better writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/memorizing-the-work-of-others-definitely-made-me-a-better-writer/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [People were telling me it was refreshing I was real because previous 'X Factor' winners were too afraid to say anything. I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/people-were-telling-me-it-was-refreshing-i-was-real-because-previous/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Everyone wrote me off, including me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/everyone-wrote-me-off-including-me/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I believe strongly in what John Keats called negative capability: the trait or practice that allows a poet to remain in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-believe-strongly-in-what-john-keats-called-negative-capability-the/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [When I had my first panic attack, I believed that it was a heart attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/when-i-had-my-first-panic-attack-i-believed-that-it-was-a-heart-attack/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [As a species, we create tools to control our environment. What excites my imagination is wilderness: our materials' ability to escape our control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/as-a-species-we-create-tools-to-control-our-environment-what-excites/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) [Explore all 141 James Arthur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead of taking my attention for granted. At first read, I want to feel compelled to pick up the poem again; I want to be curious about its byways and secret corners.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Arthur" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-attention-instead-of-taking-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-attention-instead-of-taking-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/james-arthur-3067_attention_i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-a_1429552.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like poems that immediately claim my attention, instead of taking my attention for granted. At first read…” — James Arthur", "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": "James Arthur", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I like poems that immediately claim...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-attention-instead-of-taking-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-like-poems-that-immediately-claim-my-attention-instead-of-taking-my/#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 } } ] } ```