--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never read a line of Walt Whitman." description: "\"I have never read a line of Walt Whitman.\" — Mary MacLane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/mary-maclane-10500_lines_i-have-never-read-a-line-of-walt-whitman_2435884.png" --- # I have never read a line of Walt Whitman. ![“I have never read a line of Walt Whitman.” quote by Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/mary-maclane-10500_lines_i-have-never-read-a-line-of-walt-whitman_2435884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/mary-maclane-10500_lines_i-have-never-read-a-line-of-walt-whitman_2435884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/mary-maclane-10500_lines_i-have-never-read-a-line-of-walt-whitman_2435884.png) > “I have never read a line of Walt Whitman.” [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses a personal disengagement from Whitman's work, possibly indicating differing literary tastes or values. **In simple terms:** She never read Whitman. Key Takeaway Accept diverse literary preferences. Themes literature personal taste disengagement Mood reflective neutral Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - college curricula - personal reading lists Key Concepts subjectivity cultural canon reading habits Questions to Reflect On - What draws you to or away from certain authors? - How does personal taste shape your reading choices? A Different Perspective May imply judgment without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Line Walt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/line-walt-339229/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Read Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-line-339228/) [Walt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walt/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walt-whitman/) [Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whitman/) ## Related quotes > [Documentary is, therefore, an approach, which makes use of the artistic faculties to give vivification to fact - to use Walt Whitman's definition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beaumont-newhall/documentary-is-therefore-an-approach-which-makes-use-of-the-artistic/) [Beaumont Newhall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beaumont-newhall/) > [It is no discredit to Walt Whitman that he wrote Leaves of Grass, only that he did not burn it afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-higginson/it-is-no-discredit-to-walt-whitman-that-he-wrote-leaves-of-grass-only/) [Thomas Wentworth Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wentworth-higginson/) > [Walt Whitman, he who laid end to end words never seen in each other's company before outside of a dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/walt-whitman-he-who-laid-end-to-end-words-never-seen-in-each-other-s/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [I gotta say - if I clicked on a movie interview, and the first part was all about Walt Whitman, I'd love that article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/i-gotta-say-if-i-clicked-on-a-movie-interview-and-the-first-part-was/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [If you're going to get up to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost and Langston Hughes and Sylvia Plath you've got to figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-re-going-to-get-up-to-walt-whitman-and-robert-frost-and/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I think there were two great gay Americans obviously, and that was Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/i-think-there-were-two-great-gay-americans-obviously-and-that-was/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Certainly I'm participating in an already established and awesome tradition, but it's a tradition that sort of shoots up and through the mainstream in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/certainly-i-m-participating-in-an-already-established-and-awesome/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeeded…He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-his-very-rejection-of-art-walt-whitman-is-an-artist-he-tried-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son, Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding, No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/walt-whitman-a-kosmos-of-manhattan-the-son-turbulent-fleshy-sensual/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Our culture is what we did together. What did Walt Whitman represent for all of us? What was his message to us? That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/our-culture-is-what-we-did-together-what-did-walt-whitman-represent/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [When I was young I once found a book in a Dutch translation, 'The leaves of Grass'. It was the first time a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/when-i-was-young-i-once-found-a-book-in-a-dutch-translation-the/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [The English tourist in American literature wants above all things something different from what he has at home. For this reason the one American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-english-tourist-in-american-literature-wants-above-all-things/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Art is a luxury. It's not necessary for you to - you can work your job and you can make some money and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/art-is-a-luxury-it-s-not-necessary-for-you-to-you-can-work-your-job/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [I always knew in my heart Walt Whitman's mind to be more like my own than any other man's living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/i-always-knew-in-my-heart-walt-whitman-s-mind-to-be-more-like-my-own/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" is still in print. They're debating right now over Mark Twain. He's still available. Winslow Homer can still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/walt-whitman-s-leaves-of-grass-is-still-in-print-they-re-debating/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) ## More by Mary MacLane > [I want fame more than I can tell. But more than I want fame I want happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-want-fame-more-than-i-can-tell-but-more-than-i-want-fame-i-want/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Fame is indeed beautiful and benign and gentle and satisfying, but happiness is something at once tender and brilliant beyond all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/fame-is-indeed-beautiful-and-benign-and-gentle-and-satisfying-but/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“I Don’t Know whether lust is a human coarseness or a human fineness: I don’t know why death holds a so sweet lure since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-don-t-know-whether-lust-is-a-human-coarseness-or-a-human-fineness-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Are there many things in this cool-hearted world so utterly exquisite as the pure love of one woman for another woman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/are-there-many-things-in-this-cool-hearted-world-so-utterly-exquisite/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“It is of the dubious inevitable side of human nature—like gold teeth and tinned salmon and bastard lacy valentines”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/it-is-of-the-dubious-inevitable-side-of-human-nature-like-gold-teeth/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I would rather be a fairly happy wife and mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-would-rather-be-a-fairly-happy-wife-and-mother/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am not good. I am not virtuous. I am not sympathetic. I am not generous. I am merely and above all a creature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-not-good-i-am-not-virtuous-i-am-not-sympathetic-i-am-not/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“And it is in New York I have those strangest things of all: human friendships. Not many friendships and not of spent familiarities: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/and-it-is-in-new-york-i-have-those-strangest-things-of-all-human/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I've never made plans for more than a day ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-ve-never-made-plans-for-more-than-a-day-ahead/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“May I never, I say, become that abnormal, merciless animal, that deformed monstrosity— a virtuous woman. Anything, Devil, but that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/may-i-never-i-say-become-that-abnormal-merciless-animal-that-deformed/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am lithe, but fragile from constant involuntary self-analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-lithe-but-fragile-from-constant-involuntary-self-analysis/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Genius of a kind has always been with me; an empty heart that has taken on a certain wooden quality; an excellent, strong woman's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/genius-of-a-kind-has-always-been-with-me-an-empty-heart-that-has/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [at this point I meet Me face to face. 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There is nothing better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/the-highest-thing-one-can-do-in-literature-is-to-succeed-in-saying/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) [Explore all 65 Mary MacLane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## More Lines quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [People who try to predict the future by extrapolating in a line of more of what exists - they are always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-try-to-predict-the-future-by-extrapolating-in-a-line-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [When you're the director and the writer, you never have to remember your lines, and there's no one to call you on it. 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