--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing poetry is a state of free float." description: "\"Writing poetry is a state of free float.\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg" --- # Writing poetry is a state of free float. ![“Writing poetry is a state of free float.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg) > “Writing poetry is a state of free float.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry is described as a state where the mind drifts freely, allowing ideas to flow without constraint. **In simple terms:** Poetry is free, flowing thought. Key Takeaway Allow thoughts to drift when writing. Themes creativity freedom expression mindset Mood inspired thoughtful Type creative motivational When to use this quote - writing poetry - brainstorming ideas - meditative practice Key Concepts Flow theory creative process mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does “free float” mean for your creative process? - How does letting go affect poetic quality? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The aim of science is to make difficult things understandable in a simpler way; the aim of poetry is to state simple things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-aim-of-science-is-to-make-difficult-things-understandable-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Literature is a state of culture, poetry is a state of grace, before and after culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-ramon-jimenez/literature-is-a-state-of-culture-poetry-is-a-state-of-grace-before/) [Juan Ramon Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-ramon-jimenez/) > [The brilliant thing about swimming is that, while you're doing it, there's nothing else you could be getting on with, like the ironing or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/the-brilliant-thing-about-swimming-is-that-while-you-re-doing-it/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [There’s something very freeing about losing the anchors that have always defined you. Frightening, sad, but exhilarating in a poignant way, as well. You’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/there-s-something-very-freeing-about-losing-the-anchors-that-have/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [The whole process of having to put the thing into the world seems so antithetical to the act of writing. Poetry is slightly easier,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/the-whole-process-of-having-to-put-the-thing-into-the-world-seems-so/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Gil Thorpe is a great diversion and is to book writing as poetry is to prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/gil-thorpe-is-a-great-diversion-and-is-to-book-writing-as-poetry-is/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [Writing is a bit like walking into a big bookstore. It's the bookstore of your brain, and you know you're never going to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-salter/writing-is-a-bit-like-walking-into-a-big-bookstore-it-s-the-bookstore/) [Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-salter/) > [Writing poetry is the hard manual labor of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-poetry-is-the-hard-manual-labor-of-the-imagination/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first place, it's impossible in this time and place - in this culture -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career-in-the-first-place-it-s/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [I'm finding that writing poetry is strengthening my songwriting, because you're learning to make a piece of writing work on a page with nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/i-m-finding-that-writing-poetry-is-strengthening-my-songwriting/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [The mysterious thing about writing poetry is that when you're - when things are going poorly, when you're not thinking well, even making two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-mysterious-thing-about-writing-poetry-is-that-when-you-re-when/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Writing poetry is talking to oneself; yet it is a mode of talking to oneself in which the self disappears; and the product's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/writing-poetry-is-talking-to-oneself-yet-it-is-a-mode-of-talking-to/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [When I devoted myself to poetry - and poetry is a very serious medium - I don't think the people that knew me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/when-i-devoted-myself-to-poetry-and-poetry-is-a-very-serious-medium-i/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [Writing poetry is a pleasure,...a pleasure out of hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-slessor/writing-poetry-is-a-pleasure-a-pleasure-out-of-hell/) Kenneth Slessor > [The writing of poetry is a chancy business, it's currency solitude and loss, its tools coffee and too much wine, its hours midnight, dawn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/the-writing-of-poetry-is-a-chancy-business-it-s-currency-solitude-and/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Free quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [If you love anything set it free unless it is a tiger..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kshitij-roshan/if-you-love-anything-set-it-free-unless-it-is-a-tiger/) [Kshitij Roshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kshitij-roshan/) > [I free slaves because I believe we are all created equal. I just can't think of anything that has a higher purpose than putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-williams/i-free-slaves-because-i-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-i-just-can-t/) [Virginia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-williams/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“Why is it," she asked, snuggling closer, "that I so often imagine myself running away and running free?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/why-is-it-she-asked-snuggling-closer-that-i-so-often-imagine-myself/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [My work is a love for me; I'd do it for free, but don't tell my bosses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chick-hearn/my-work-is-a-love-for-me-i-d-do-it-for-free-but-don-t-tell-my-bosses/) [Chick Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chick-hearn/) > [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“She felt wild and unruly, determined and free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/she-felt-wild-and-unruly-determined-and-free/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [Love doesnt stake claims. It is free for the giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/love-doesnt-stake-claims-it-is-free-for-the-giving/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Music is how I get free. It's a way to shut the rest of the world down and create your own world within it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-of-gab/music-is-how-i-get-free-it-s-a-way-to-shut-the-rest-of-the-world-down/) Gift of Gab > [The dignity of man is in free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/the-dignity-of-man-is-in-free-choice/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) Browse all 6,143 Free quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing poetry is a state of free float.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Free" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/margaret-atwood-40_free_writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float_2918632.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing poetry is a state of free float.” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing poetry is a state of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/writing-poetry-is-a-state-of-free-float/#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 } } ] } ```