--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I often say poetry was my first love." description: "\"I often say poetry was my first love.\" — Luis Alberto Urrea" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg" --- # I often say poetry was my first love. ![“I often say poetry was my first love.” quote by Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg) > “I often say poetry was my first love.” [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker regards poetry as a deep, foundational affection that shapes his creative life. **In simple terms:** Poetry is his first love. Key Takeaway Embrace poetry early in life. Themes creativity love art Mood reflective inspirational Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal reflection - educational curricula - literary criticism Key Concepts literary passion emotional foundation Questions to Reflect On - How does early exposure to poetry influence later creativity? - What other art forms can serve as a first love? A Different Perspective Poetry may not appeal to everyone, limiting its universal impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [First love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-love-2/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Say Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-poetry-1097376/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, when I say “poetry is not all love, love, love,” I mean romantic love is where we go first with the word. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/well-when-i-say-poetry-is-not-all-love-love-love-i-mean-romantic-love/) [Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/) > [Poetry in love is no more to be avoided than jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/poetry-in-love-is-no-more-to-be-avoided-than-jealousy/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [“It is safe to say that poetry cannot be translated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-ma-guerrero/it-is-safe-to-say-that-poetry-cannot-be-translated/) [Leon Ma. Guerrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-ma-guerrero/) > [Joy is a part of my process. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that poetry, as a practice, necessitates a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/joy-is-a-part-of-my-process-in-fact-i-d-go-so-far-as-to-say-that/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [There's no difference between lyrics and poetry. Words are words. The only difference is the people who are in academic positions and call themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/there-s-no-difference-between-lyrics-and-poetry-words-are-words-the/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I always say that one's poetry is a solace to oneself and a nuisance to one's friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/i-always-say-that-one-s-poetry-is-a-solace-to-oneself-and-a-nuisance/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [What will they say about my poetry who never touched my blood?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/what-will-they-say-about-my-poetry-who-never-touched-my-blood/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [What will they say about my poetry who never touched my blood? Que diran de mi poesia los que no tocaron mi sangre?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/what-will-they-say-about-my-poetry-who-never-touched-my-blood-que/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I had no one to help me, but the T. S. Eliot helped me. So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-had-no-one-to-help-me-but-the-t-s-eliot-helped-me-so-when-people/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I see only science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-seurat/some-say-they-see-poetry-in-my-paintings-i-see-only-science/) [Georges Seurat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-seurat/) > [Most great books have been about striving in some sense. In a sense, money is the great topic of the novel. You couldn't necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/most-great-books-have-been-about-striving-in-some-sense-in-a-sense/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [What shall I say about poetry? What shall I say about those clouds, or about the sky? Look; look at them; look at it!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/what-shall-i-say-about-poetry-what-shall-i-say-about-those-clouds-or/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Perhaps you don't desire poetry as much as you would like to have my torchy knowledge of your possible futures, but I dare say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/perhaps-you-don-t-desire-poetry-as-much-as-you-would-like-to-have-my/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I would say poetry is language charged with emotion. It's words, rhythmically organized . . . A poem is a complete little universe. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-would-say-poetry-is-language-charged-with-emotion-it-s-words/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## More by Luis Alberto Urrea > [I'm interested in the eternal soul. That's what I write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-m-interested-in-the-eternal-soul-that-s-what-i-write-about/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“Aztlán (“The Place of the Reeds”) was the traditional home of the Aztecs, a possibly mythical motherland from which the tribe ventured forth on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/aztl-n-the-place-of-the-reeds-was-the-traditional-home-of-the-aztecs/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [With a name like Luis Alberto Urrea, it's political no matter what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/with-a-name-like-luis-alberto-urrea-it-s-political-no-matter-what-i-do/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [During grade school, we moved to a white, working-class suburb in San Diego, and there were no Mexicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/during-grade-school-we-moved-to-a-white-working-class-suburb-in-san/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I've been told not to tour down in Mexico. I am too well-known now. The kidnappers may think that my publisher will pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-ve-been-told-not-to-tour-down-in-mexico-i-am-too-well-known-now-the/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“Braulio rises and extends his hands, making peace. " No hay pedo ," he says, the absurd lower-class slang for "There's no trouble here,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/braulio-rises-and-extends-his-hands-making-peace-no-hay-pedo-he-says/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“This is how Heaven works. They're practical. We are always looking for rays of light. For lightning bolts or burning bushes. But God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/this-is-how-heaven-works-they-re-practical-we-are-always-looking-for/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [We want to ascribe a kind of tragic grimness to people, but people are funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/we-want-to-ascribe-a-kind-of-tragic-grimness-to-people-but-people-are/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I came to believe the green fuse that drives spring and summer through the world is essentially a literary energy. That the world was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-came-to-believe-the-green-fuse-that-drives-spring-and-summer/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [Writers write without support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/writers-write-without-support/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“He couldn't believe she was real. She was like some dream, some story old men told youngsters. She made a fool out of him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/he-couldn-t-believe-she-was-real-she-was-like-some-dream-some-story/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [The world was more than a place. Life was more than an event. It was all one thing, and that thing was: story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-world-was-more-than-a-place-life-was-more-than-an-event-it-was/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-concept-of-a-literature-of-witness-of-bearing-witness-has/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I have often said I come from a family of unreliable narrators. I tend to believe their struggles with racism, identity, nationality do dovetail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-have-often-said-i-come-from-a-family-of-unreliable-narrators-i-tend/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [In the end, I'm really interested in people and what we do with our short time here on earth. I'm interested in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/in-the-end-i-m-really-interested-in-people-and-what-we-do-with-our/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) [Explore all 86 Luis Alberto Urrea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## More First quotes > [Life is going to hit you some line drives, and sometimes you'll have to think fast. However, it's better to think first than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/life-is-going-to-hit-you-some-line-drives-and-sometimes-you-ll-have/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [I watched the movie 'What We Do in the Shadows' in a packed theater when it first came out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-dacosta/i-watched-the-movie-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-in-a-packed-theater/) [Nia DaCosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-dacosta/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. I just used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/oh-i-m-a-great-believer-in-the-power-of-the-pause-radio-is-a-bit/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/i-have-to-say-i-grew-up-with-fashion-because-my-mother-was-a/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [I first got into boxing when I was quite young. I was about 12 when I won my first boxing match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/i-first-got-into-boxing-when-i-was-quite-young-i-was-about-12-when-i/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) [Browse all 9,159 First quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I often say poetry was my first love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Luis Alberto Urrea" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_first_i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love-223_2232971.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I often say poetry was my first love.” — Luis Alberto Urrea", "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": "Luis Alberto Urrea", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I often say poetry was my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love/#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 } } ] } ```