--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry, which is written while no one is…" description: "\"Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant to be looked at for all time.\" — Kenneth Koch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png" --- # Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant… ![“Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant to be looked at for all time.” quote by Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png) > “Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant to be looked at for all time.” [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry created privately should be appreciated publicly for timeless value. **In simple terms:** Poetry is private but meant for all. Key Takeaway Share and preserve poetry. Themes art privacy timelessness Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public readings - educational curricula - digital archives Key Concepts creative expression cultural heritage Questions to Reflect On - How does audience affect poetic meaning? - Should poets protect their privacy? A Different Perspective Public exposure may alter original intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-time/) [Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking/) [Looking Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-meant-2180483/) [Meant to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant-to-be/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-written-345235/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-looking-2180482/) ## Related quotes > [“Grayson looked at me again. This time his gaze traveled form my hair down, and he let me see that he was looking. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/grayson-looked-at-me-again-this-time-his-gaze-traveled-form-my-hair/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [No good poetry is ever written in a manner twenty years old, for to write in such a manner shows conclusively that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/no-good-poetry-is-ever-written-in-a-manner-twenty-years-old-for-to/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“You are all the poetry I have written all the words I know I've heard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-kent-white/you-are-all-the-poetry-i-have-written-all-the-words-i-know-i-ve-heard/) [Tyler Kent White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-kent-white/) > [Poetry must be as well written as prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poetry-must-be-as-well-written-as-prose/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [There is also poetry written to be shouted in a square in front of an enthusiastic crowd. This occurs especially in countries where authoritarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenio-montale/there-is-also-poetry-written-to-be-shouted-in-a-square-in-front-of-an/) [Eugenio Montale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenio-montale/) > [I published, privately, a collection of my serious poetry I had written over the years. I only published 50 copies, which I gave to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-glazer/i-published-privately-a-collection-of-my-serious-poetry-i-had-written/) [Tom Glazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-glazer/) > [Poetry has roots, but they are sometimes cut off and still poetry is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/poetry-has-roots-but-they-are-sometimes-cut-off-and-still-poetry-is/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/great-poetry-is-always-written-by-somebody-straining-to-go-beyond/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Of all the poetry written in our generation, Frost's is most likely to stand the test of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-all-the-poetry-written-in-our-generation-frost-s-is-most-likely-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She was sunshine on a rainy day, a rainbow against gray clouds, hope in a Catholic school uniform. She was why poetry was written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-scott/she-was-sunshine-on-a-rainy-day-a-rainbow-against-gray-clouds-hope-in/) [S.L. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-scott/) > [The trouble with poetry is it's often written to the sound of a drum only the poet may hear; nonetheless, blessed are those poets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-trouble-with-poetry-is-it-s-often-written-to-the-sound-of-a-drum/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [ I read the text; and then I come to the Shirat ha-Yam, to the Song of the Sea \[Exodus 15\], to the poetry. Who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-read-the-text-and-then-i-come-to-the-shirat-ha-yam-to-the-song-of/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Good poetry could not have been otherwise written than it is. The first time you hear it, it sounds rather as if copied out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-poetry-could-not-have-been-otherwise-written-than-it-is-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Great poetry, whether written in Greek or in English, needs no other interpreter than a responsive heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/great-poetry-whether-written-in-greek-or-in-english-needs-no-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## More by Kenneth Koch > [The subject matter of the stories on the surface... there seem to be a number of stories about travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/the-subject-matter-of-the-stories-on-the-surface-there-seem-to-be-a/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [It's a well known thing that ordinary perceptions can have a strange aspect when one is travelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/it-s-a-well-known-thing-that-ordinary-perceptions-can-have-a-strange/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“Summer in the trees! “It is time to strangle several bad poets.” / The yellow hobbyhorse rocks to and fro, and from the chimney…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/summer-in-the-trees-it-is-time-to-strangle-several-bad-poets-the/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [If you want to know how much I love and care for you, count the waves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/if-you-want-to-know-how-much-i-love-and-care-for-you-count-the-waves/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“Lies belong in poems”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/lies-belong-in-poems/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I was excited by what my painter friends were doing, and they seemed to be interested in our poetry too, and that was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-was-excited-by-what-my-painter-friends-were-doing-and-they-seemed/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Picasso said once when being interviewed that one should not be one's own connoisseur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/picasso-said-once-when-being-interviewed-that-one-should-not-be-one-s/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [It takes a long time to publish a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/it-takes-a-long-time-to-publish-a-book/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I love painting and music, of course. I don't know nearly as much about them as I know about poetry. I've certainly been influenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-love-painting-and-music-of-course-i-don-t-know-nearly-as-much-about/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I wasn’t ready For you. I understood nothing Seemingly except my feelings You were whirling In your life I was keeping Everything in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-wasn-t-ready-for-you-i-understood-nothing-seemingly-except-my/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I don't think the nature of my poetry is satirical or even ironic, I think it's essentially lyrical but again I don't know if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-don-t-think-the-nature-of-my-poetry-is-satirical-or-even-ironic-i/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I probably misunderstand misunderstanding itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-probably-misunderstand-misunderstanding-itself/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I love you as a sheriff searches for a walnut / That will solve a murder case unsolved for years / Because the murderer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-love-you-as-a-sheriff-searches-for-a-walnut-that-will-solve-a/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [As I look over my work, I mean every time I look over my early work, I see, yes, I could do that then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/as-i-look-over-my-work-i-mean-every-time-i-look-over-my-early-work-i/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) [Explore all 48 Kenneth Koch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) ## More All time quotes > [To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/to-be-positive-at-all-times-is-to-ignore-all-that-is-important-sacred/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [I'm big on tomato mozzarella salad. That's my favorite all-time food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-fields/i-m-big-on-tomato-mozzarella-salad-that-s-my-favorite-all-time-food/) [Jan Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-fields/) > [If you are my friend,you are down for me at all times,not just when it's convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-v/if-you-are-my-friend-you-are-down-for-me-at-all-times-not-just-when/) [Jasmine V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-v/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Perhaps if only once you did enjoy The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love, Repentant, you would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/perhaps-if-only-once-you-did-enjoy-the-thousandth-part-of-all-the/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [For all the concern about bodies and weight, 'Baywatch' has three huge catering trucks on the set at all times. One for entrees, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eggert/for-all-the-concern-about-bodies-and-weight-baywatch-has-three-huge/) [Nicole Eggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eggert/) > ['Lost Boys' is one of my all-time faves. I just thought it would be great to be a vampire. I remember this movie called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-headey/lost-boys-is-one-of-my-all-time-faves-i-just-thought-it-would-be/) [Lena Headey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-headey/) > [I have a constant kind of soundtrack going on at all times. I almost always have a song in my head. I'm very musically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-davie/i-have-a-constant-kind-of-soundtrack-going-on-at-all-times-i-almost/) [Erin Davie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-davie/) > [Lord, make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. Save me from being the kind of person who cares more about my comfort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/lord-make-me-less-like-jonah-and-more-like-jesus-save-me-from-being/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your inner body - to feel it at all times. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-key-is-to-be-in-a-state-of-permanent-connectedness-with-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) [Browse all 1,525 All time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant to be looked at for all time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Koch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is-looking-is-meant-to-be-looked/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is-looking-is-meant-to-be-looked/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/kenneth-koch-13952_all-time_poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is_2629828.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poetry, which is written while no one is looking, is meant to be looked at for all time.” — Kenneth Koch", "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": "Kenneth Koch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poetry, which is written while no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is-looking-is-meant-to-be-looked/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/poetry-which-is-written-while-no-one-is-looking-is-meant-to-be-looked/#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 } } ] } ```