--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the beginning. I was a poem-writing…" description: "\"From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.\" — Joan Larkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/joan-larkin-26192_birth_from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing_1813978.jpg" --- # From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote… ![“From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.” quote by Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/joan-larkin-26192_birth_from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing_1813978.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/joan-larkin-26192_birth_from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing_1813978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/joan-larkin-26192_birth_from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing_1813978.jpg) > “From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.” [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She began writing poems and stories as a child, showing early creative drive. **In simple terms:** Child poet and novelist, early creativity. Key Takeaway Nurture early creative passions. Themes creativity childhood writing Mood inspirational hopeful Type advice biographical When to use this quote - education - literary arts - personal development Key Concepts imagination storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How did early writing shape you? - What supports young creators? A Different Perspective Early talent may need guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I felt like my columns were like little novels in themselves. But I wasn't writing what I believed. I'm not interested in what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/sometimes-i-felt-like-my-columns-were-like-little-novels-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Well, I think I was a very strange child who wrote loads of plays and made my sister perform them. But I was quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/well-i-think-i-was-a-very-strange-child-who-wrote-loads-of-plays-and/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-loved-to-write-when-i-was-a-child-i-wrote-but-i-always-thought-it/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [In an xam,children were given to write an easy on mother.. A cute child wrote: combination of million words from 26 alphabets..,, cn nevr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/in-an-xam-children-were-given-to-write-an-easy-on-mother-a-cute-child/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I remember, when I was a child and wrote poems in little clasped books, I used to kiss the books and put them away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-remember-when-i-was-a-child-and-wrote-poems-in-little-clasped-books/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [I began writing after my child was seriously hurt in a day care center accident, and I wanted to come home to be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-banks/i-began-writing-after-my-child-was-seriously-hurt-in-a-day-care/) [Leslie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-banks/) > [First rule of writing: When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. 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But I didn't think of myself actually writing until I was in college. And I had gone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-started-writing-as-a-child-but-i-didn-t-think-of-myself-actually/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Let your literary compositions be kept from the public eye for nine years at least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/let-your-literary-compositions-be-kept-from-the-public-eye-for-nine/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Anyone moderately familiar with the rigours of composition will not need to be told the story in detail; how he wrote and it seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/anyone-moderately-familiar-with-the-rigours-of-composition-will-not/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I intend to be, the richest man in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hughes/i-intend-to-be-the-richest-man-in-the-world/) [Howard Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hughes/) > [You know what I was thinking about on my way home? 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And people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/people-need-what-they-think-of-as-a-poem-to-be-read-at-their-bar/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I'm trying to stay open to the idea that the Internet is not the evil foe of publishing but the handmaiden that will turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/i-m-trying-to-stay-open-to-the-idea-that-the-internet-is-not-the-evil/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [It takes courage to get clear about what your vision of the work is and to be persistent about it and pursue it, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/it-takes-courage-to-get-clear-about-what-your-vision-of-the-work-is/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [Teaching has given me a community that cares about poetry, and I'm grateful for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/teaching-has-given-me-a-community-that-cares-about-poetry-and-i-m/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I think translation is an impossible job, and I admire the people who do it in a way that brings poetry to us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/i-think-translation-is-an-impossible-job-and-i-admire-the-people-who/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [Rhythms and sounds are often the first thing I hear and want in a poem, so I can't imagine trying to translate something without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/rhythms-and-sounds-are-often-the-first-thing-i-hear-and-want-in-a/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [Poetry is a tree with very deep roots and while there may be excitement about this or that new little branch, you're not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/poetry-is-a-tree-with-very-deep-roots-and-while-there-may-be/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I love that people want to know about poetry. 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I've gotten very surgical about poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/i-m-much-more-capable-of-cutting-back-than-of-expanding-i-ve-gotten/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [“Is ‘vagina’ suitable for use in a sonnet? I don’t suppose so. A famous poet told me, ‘Vagina’s ugly.’ Meaning, of course, the sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/is-vagina-suitable-for-use-in-a-sonnet-i-don-t-suppose-so-a-famous/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I worked in an art gallery for a few years, doing administrative assistance stuff, and it exposed me to what the whole world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/i-worked-in-an-art-gallery-for-a-few-years-doing-administrative/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) [Explore all 22 Joan Larkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. 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