--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a relatively rational being and I…" description: "\"I am a relatively rational being and I like to create order in poems. I like meter, I like rhyme, but ultimately I don't know where the poems come from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/mary-jo-salter-38984_creativity_i-am-a-relatively-rational-being-and-i-l_3138111.jpg" --- # I am a relatively rational being and I like to create… ![“I am a relatively rational being and I like to create order in poems. I like meter, I like rhyme, but ultimately I don't know where the poems come from, and I feel, at least in the beginning, that I'm taking dictation from my own dream that I don't remember.” quote by Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/mary-jo-salter-38984_creativity_i-am-a-relatively-rational-being-and-i-l_3138111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/mary-jo-salter-38984_creativity_i-am-a-relatively-rational-being-and-i-l_3138111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/mary-jo-salter-38984_creativity_i-am-a-relatively-rational-being-and-i-l_3138111.jpg) > “I am a relatively rational being and I like to create order in poems. I like meter, I like rhyme, but ultimately I don't know where the poems come from, and I feel, at least in the beginning, that I'm taking dictation from my own dream that I don't remember.” [Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-salter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes herself as rational, seeking order in poetry through meter and rhyme, yet feels the creative source is subconscious and dream‑like. **In simple terms:** She balances rational structure with subconscious inspiration. Key Takeaway Embrace both form and intuition in writing. Themes creativity structure subconscious poetry Mood introspective inspirational Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - creative retreats - teaching poetry Key Concepts Literary theory psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile rational planning with dream inspiration? - What practices help capture subconscious ideas? A Different Perspective May underplay the role of deliberate skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“Poems 1959-2009\_ I turn into the man they photograph. I think I'll ask him for his autograph. 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There’s so much evidence of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopoldine-core/she-loved-to-read-her-old-poems-they-are-like-photographs-she-thought/) Leopoldine Core > [I would like to talk about poems like I talk about football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-would-like-to-talk-about-poems-like-i-talk-about-football/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I wrote poetry from the time I could write. That was the only way I could begin to express who I was but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-wrote-poetry-from-the-time-i-could-write-that-was-the-only-way-i/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [I wanted a perfect ending. 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These gorgeously crafted and hauntingly memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-zucker/lizzie-harris-s-stop-wanting-is-an-unflinching-book-about-a-girlhood/) [Rachel Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-zucker/) ## More by Mary Jo Salter > [Like a page dipped in ink, your cuff's in my coffee. / You have something to tell with unbuttoned sleeves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-salter/like-a-page-dipped-in-ink-your-cuff-s-in-my-coffee-you-have-something/) [Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-salter/) > [Part of what the imagination does later in life is it's linking you not just to who you are now but to all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-salter/part-of-what-the-imagination-does-later-in-life-is-it-s-linking-you/) [Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-salter/) > [Writing is a bit like walking into a big bookstore. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. 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What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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