--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Babies are not brought by storks and…" description: "\"Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not produced by workshops.\" — James Fenton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/james-fenton-9438_babies_babies-are-not-brought-by-storks-and-poe_815518.png" --- # Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not… ![“Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not produced by workshops.” quote by James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/james-fenton-9438_babies_babies-are-not-brought-by-storks-and-poe_815518.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/james-fenton-9438_babies_babies-are-not-brought-by-storks-and-poe_815518.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/james-fenton-9438_babies_babies-are-not-brought-by-storks-and-poe_815518.png) > “Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not produced by workshops.” [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths and workshops are romanticized origins; reality is messier and less poetic. **In simple terms:** Storks and workshops are myths; reality is ordinary. Key Takeaway Recognize the ordinary behind romantic myths. Themes myths reality creativity Mood contemplative wry Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - literary analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts origin stories poetry creative process Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to mythic origins? - How does myth shape our view of creation? A Different Perspective May undervalue the role of imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Storks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storks/) [Workshops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workshops/) ## Related quotes > [Unfortunately, life is unfair and not all babies are brought into the world with the same amount of anticipation and affection, as others. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjoybell-c/unfortunately-life-is-unfair-and-not-all-babies-are-brought-into-the/) CJoybell C > [“She didn’t think of the debt she was repaying, that each of the babies she brought into the world might someday be counted against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahmima-anam/she-didn-t-think-of-the-debt-she-was-repaying-that-each-of-the-babies/) [Tahmima Anam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahmima-anam/) > [I don't believe in storks. I know they don't deliver babies; they deliver pickles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-don-t-believe-in-storks-i-know-they-don-t-deliver-babies-they/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [With blue vinyl-tile floor, pale-green wainscoating, pink walls, a yellow ceiling, and orange-and-white stork-patterned drapes, the expectant fathers' lounge churned with the negative energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/with-blue-vinyl-tile-floor-pale-green-wainscoating-pink-walls-a/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [About the only thing we have left that actually discriminates in favor of the plain people is the stork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/about-the-only-thing-we-have-left-that-actually-discriminates-in/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [I'll bet your father spent the first year of your life throwing rocks at the stork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-brecher/i-ll-bet-your-father-spent-the-first-year-of-your-life-throwing-rocks/) Irving Brecher > [“and from that day, even till now, all the storks have been called Peter. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/and-from-that-day-even-till-now-all-the-storks-have-been-called-peter/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [The only bird that gives the poor a real tumble is the stork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-mizner/the-only-bird-that-gives-the-poor-a-real-tumble-is-the-stork/) [Wilson Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-mizner/) > [I will tell the stork-man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/i-will-tell-the-stork-man/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [The stork is voiceless because there is really nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/the-stork-is-voiceless-because-there-is-really-nothing-to-say/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Can a sparrow know how a stork feels?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/can-a-sparrow-know-how-a-stork-feels/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [But to measure cause and effect... you must ensure that a simple correlation, however tempting it may be, is not mistaken for a cause.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-measure-cause-and-effect-you-must-ensure-that-a-simple/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [There would be no population explosion if people who are trying to keep the wolf from the door wouldn't let the stork fly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/there-would-be-no-population-explosion-if-people-who-are-trying-to/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez ## More by James Fenton > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. 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Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' 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A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) [Explore all 72 James Fenton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## More Babies quotes > [When I'm on Twitter, we just talk to people. I call all my Twitter followers my 'Twitter babies.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rozonda-thomas/when-i-m-on-twitter-we-just-talk-to-people-i-call-all-my-twitter/) [Rozonda Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rozonda-thomas/) > [If all fooles had babies, wee should want fuell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/if-all-fooles-had-babies-wee-should-want-fuell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Yes, I'm a nice man and I enjoy babies. I'm a sensitive guy. 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I have a marginally higher opinion of them than Herod, she said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mcgown/you-like-babies-don-t-you-he-asked-i-have-a-marginally-higher-opinion/) Jill McGown > [God looks out for fools and babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/god-looks-out-for-fools-and-babies/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [“Babies who do not sleep ‘through the night’ alone in a cot, as soon as possible after birth, are seen as a ‘problem’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/babies-who-do-not-sleep-through-the-night-alone-in-a-cot-as-soon-as/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [Babies don't need a vacation, but I still see them at the beach... it pisses me off! 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That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/babies-like-fat-like-to-bury-they-face-up-in-you-armpit-and-go-to/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Some women just skip having babies or adopt because they don't want to get fat or they haven't put in the time to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/some-women-just-skip-having-babies-or-adopt-because-they-don-t-want/) [Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/) > [“Even lizard + baby can be director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-robert/even-lizard-baby-can-be-director/) Robert Robert > [People who make babies surrender their right to behave like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/people-who-make-babies-surrender-their-right-to-behave-like-them/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Babies are great but I am not ready to have one. Maybe ten years from now but not yet. 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