---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... to write well it is entirely…"
description: "\"... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.\" — Mary Oliver"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg"
---

#  ... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely…

![“... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg)

> “... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.”

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reading broadly and deeply cultivates writing skill; poetry especially teaches craft and insight.

**In simple terms:** Reading widely improves writing; poems teach well.

Key Takeaway

Read widely, study poetry.

Themes

writing education poetry

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic essays
- creative writing
- personal development
- teaching writing

Key Concepts

literary skill creative influence

Questions to Reflect On

- How does poetry shape your writing voice?
- What genres expand your perspective?

A Different Perspective

Reading alone doesn't guarantee comprehension or application.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Best teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-teacher/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [How is it that the poets have said so many fine things about our first love, so few about our later love? Are their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/how-is-it-that-the-poets-have-said-so-many-fine-things-about-our/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/)

[Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/)

> [I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-write-entirely-to-find-out-what-i-m-thinking-what-i-m-looking-at-2/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Ninety percent of my material is made on stage, but I feel like you're missing something by abandoning sitting down to write entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segura/ninety-percent-of-my-material-is-made-on-stage-but-i-feel-like-you-re/)

[Tom Segura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segura/)

> [Never loan money to friends or family that you are not able to write off entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-yoffe/never-loan-money-to-friends-or-family-that-you-are-not-able-to-write/)

[Emily Yoffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-yoffe/)

> [I think my biggest revelation was to write entirely from the heart, and to convey emotion, even when it meant forcing myself to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gaskarth/i-think-my-biggest-revelation-was-to-write-entirely-from-the-heart/)

[Alex Gaskarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gaskarth/)

> [Had my credentials been in order I would never have become a writer. Had I been blessed with even limited access to my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/had-my-credentials-been-in-order-i-would-never-have-become-a-writer/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at. What I see and what I fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-write-entirely-to-find-out-what-i-m-thinking-what-i-m-looking-at/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [“Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a lycée student, it was snowing, and you were lost in thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day-when-you-were-a-lyc-e-student/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [To write good poems is the secret of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/to-write-good-poems-is-the-secret-of-brevity/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [Existence itself is nothing if not an amazement. Good poems restore amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/existence-itself-is-nothing-if-not-an-amazement-good-poems-restore/)

[Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/)

> [Good acts are like good poems. One may easily get their drift, but they are not rationally understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/good-acts-are-like-good-poems-one-may-easily-get-their-drift-but-they/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even simple-of-surface poems want that. Perhaps those are the ones that want it most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds-and-hearts-even-simple-of/)

[Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/)

> [Poverty is very good in poems but very bad in the house; very good in maxims and sermons but very bad in practical life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/poverty-is-very-good-in-poems-but-very-bad-in-the-house-very-good-in/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/)

[Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/)

## More by Mary Oliver

> [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees - to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-dream-of-my-life-is-to-lie-down-by-a-slow-river-and-stare-at-the/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. • To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-important-ideas-must-include-the-trees-the-mountains-and-the/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-think-were-i-just-a-little-rougher-made-i-would-go/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“First Snow The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/first-snow-the-snow-began-here-this-morning-and-all-day-continued-its/)

[mary oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“What can I say that I have not said before? So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-a-life-cherishing-force-for-poems-are-not-words-after-all/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [“I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-stood-like-adam-in-his-lonely-garden-on-that-first-morning-shaken/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [We all have a hungry heart, and one of the things we hunger for is happiness. So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

[Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

## More Best teacher quotes

> [“The best teacher is experience. Not by copying the answers off the kid sitting next to you...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/the-best-teacher-is-experience-not-by-copying-the-answers-off-the-kid/)

[José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/)

> [Experiences isn't the best teacher - evaluated experience is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/experiences-isn-t-the-best-teacher-evaluated-experience-is/)

[John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/)

> [Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-callahan/experience-is-the-best-teacher-of-all-and-for-that-there-are-no/)

[Harry Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-callahan/)

> [Truths of life¦ The most beautiful day: Today The easiest thing: Equivocate The biggest obstacle: Fear The gravest error: give up, to despair The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truths-of-life-the-most-beautiful-day-today-the-easiest-thing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Travel is the best teacher. The only way to an open mind is by taking a plane out into the open world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/travel-is-the-best-teacher-the-only-way-to-an-open-mind-is-by-taking/)

[C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/)

> [Mistakes are often the best teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/mistakes-are-often-the-best-teachers/)

[James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/)

> [Life &amp; Time Are The Worlds Best Teachers. Life Teaches Us The Use Of Time &amp; Time Teaches Us The Value Of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-time-are-the-worlds-best-teachers-life-teaches-us-the-use-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Your best teacher , supporter, motivator and counselor resides inside your self as your soul , don't feel miserable in opposite circumstances , just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/your-best-teacher-supporter-motivator-and-counselor-resides-inside/)

Senoraroy

> [“Lucy, who apparently had no idea his girlfriend's father held him in such low regard, agreed with Noonan that he was pushing the envelope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/lucy-who-apparently-had-no-idea-his-girlfriend-s-father-held-him-in/)

[Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/)

> [“Oops! "Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results." Basic Text, p. 23 Mistakes! We all know how it feels to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oops-insanity-is-repeating-the-same-mistakes-and-expecting-different/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“to teach is the best way to learn, but that the imperfect are the best teachers of the imperfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/to-teach-is-the-best-way-to-learn-but-that-the-imperfect-are-the-best/)

[George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/)

> [We have seen that, in another unfunded mandate, the so-called No Child Left Behind Act, which created tougher standards, and we all support that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-filner/we-have-seen-that-in-another-unfunded-mandate-the-so-called-no-child/)

[Bob Filner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-filner/)

> [LIFE and TIME are the worlds best teachers. Life teaches us to make good use of time and time teaches us the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/life-and-time-are-the-worlds-best-teachers-life-teaches-us-to-make/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [There was the best teachers from the Czech Philharmonic, highly dedicated people, some of the best musicians in the world passing on the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-vitous/there-was-the-best-teachers-from-the-czech-philharmonic-highly/)

[Miroslav Vitous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-vitous/)

[Browse all 273 Best teacher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-teacher/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply.  Good poems are the best teachers.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mary Oliver"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Best teacher"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/mary-oliver-570_best-teacher_to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-t_1538922.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.” — Mary Oliver",
                "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": "Mary Oliver",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "... to write well it is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
