---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poems can't help but be personal. Mine…"
description: "\"Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if not a record of my daily life.\" — Matthea Ha..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg"
---

#  Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an…

![“Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if not a record of my daily life.” quote by Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg)

> “Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if not a record of my daily life.”

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

## About This Quote

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

Poems serve as personal maps, reflecting thoughts and daily life, making the intimate public.

**In simple terms:** Poetry as personal map.

Key Takeaway

Write authentically to capture lived experience.

Themes

creativity self‑expression memory

Mood

introspective artistic

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- journaling
- teaching writing
- therapy sessions
- public readings

Key Concepts

literary art autobiographical writing psychology of art

Questions to Reflect On

- What parts of your life feel safe to share?
- How does personal writing affect your self‑understanding?

A Different Perspective

Over‑exposure can blur privacy boundaries.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accurate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accurate/) [Blueprints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blueprints/) [Certainly Accurate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainly-accurate-2774185/) [Daily life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-life/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal/) [Personal Certainly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-certainly-2774183/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poems Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-help-2774184/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [It is certainly accurate, as it has often been said and as his letters reveal, that Grandpa supplied his tenth college reunion with alcohol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kennedy-smith/it-is-certainly-accurate-as-it-has-often-been-said-and-as-his-letters/)

[Jean Kennedy Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kennedy-smith/)

> [I think it was more personal, but I certainly tried to adapt certain concepts of Surrealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-dunn/i-think-it-was-more-personal-but-i-certainly-tried-to-adapt-certain/)

[Trevor Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-dunn/)

> [Poems tend to have instructions for how to read them embedded in their language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/poems-tend-to-have-instructions-for-how-to-read-them-embedded-in/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [Some of my favorite poems are "confessional" poems written in the voices of aliens ("Southbound on the Freeway" by May Swenson" and "Report from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/some-of-my-favorite-poems-are-confessional-poems-written-in-the/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [The best advice I've ever been given is being handed a Bible. That's the blueprint for marriage that we go by, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-cameron/the-best-advice-i-ve-ever-been-given-is-being-handed-a-bible-that-s/)

[Candace Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-cameron/)

> [The mind must be developed by you alone. There is no way for others to do the work and for you to reap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-mind-must-be-developed-by-you-alone-there-is-no-way-for-others-to/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Jeff Klein, one of the earliest champions of Conscious Capitalism, offers a highly practical yet profoundly intuitive blueprint for achieving your purpose-and making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-aburdene/jeff-klein-one-of-the-earliest-champions-of-conscious-capitalism/)

[Patricia Aburdene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-aburdene/)

> [Actually, screenplays were much more detailed than what I did in the book In the book I had to invent a style for communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/actually-screenplays-were-much-more-detailed-than-what-i-did-in-the/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [ The technologists claim that if everything works \[in a nuclear fission reactor\] according to their blueprints, fission energy will be a safe and very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/the-technologists-claim-that-if-everything-works-in-a-nuclear-fission/)

[Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/)

> [The easy glamour of the French Riviera in the late 1960s - inspired by Romy Schneider's character in La Piscine - mixed with garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/the-easy-glamour-of-the-french-riviera-in-the-late-1960s-inspired-by/)

[Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/)

> [My deal is to understand: you trust me, I trust you. It's a two-way street. Developing that happens over time. It's hard. I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcelwain/my-deal-is-to-understand-you-trust-me-i-trust-you-it-s-a-two-way/)

[Jim McElwain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcelwain/)

> [... blueprints are like pets and children -- difficult to appreciate or understand unless they're yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-kaufman/blueprints-are-like-pets-and-children-difficult-to-appreciate-or/)

[Margo Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-kaufman/)

> [Any system or blueprint for success is better than none at all. Think on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/any-system-or-blueprint-for-success-is-better-than-none-at-all-think/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [You can't get a movie made without a script; it's the blueprint to your building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/you-can-t-get-a-movie-made-without-a-script-it-s-the-blueprint-to/)

[Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/)

> [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

## More by Matthea Harvey

> [I don't think that you can say by any stretch of the imagination that all Wisconsin or Brooklyn-based poets write in a particular way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-don-t-think-that-you-can-say-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-that/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [Not everyone is going to like every carnival ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/not-everyone-is-going-to-like-every-carnival-ride/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I think poetry involves heightened noticing or imagining as well as creating a certain made shape. On the other hand, that shape can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-think-poetry-involves-heightened-noticing-or-imagining-as-well-as/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [When I get interested in a new topic I teach a class on it. There's a graduate seminar I teach in which the students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-get-interested-in-a-new-topic-i-teach-a-class-on-it-there-s-a/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> ["Confessional poetry" is another one of those labels. It goes in and out of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/confessional-poetry-is-another-one-of-those-labels-it-goes-in-and-out/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I don't think all poems need to be written in conversational language - those are often great poems but there should also be poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-don-t-think-all-poems-need-to-be-written-in-conversational-language/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I let my narrative embroidering impulses take over in prose poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-let-my-narrative-embroidering-impulses-take-over-in-prose-poems/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [When I have my students do erasures, I'm always amazed by the way their voice comes through, whether they're doing an erasure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-have-my-students-do-erasures-i-m-always-amazed-by-the-way/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [Whether you're talking about political borders or aesthetic divisions (and clearly, the political ones have much more tragic consequences), it seems like once they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/whether-you-re-talking-about-political-borders-or-aesthetic-divisions/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I'm pretty lenient with myself about time - if I feel like taking photographs of small things inside ice cubes or making animal collages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-m-pretty-lenient-with-myself-about-time-if-i-feel-like-taking/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [Recently, while I was in England, I saw a documentary on the BBC about the border between India and Pakistan at Wagah. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/recently-while-i-was-in-england-i-saw-a-documentary-on-the-bbc-about/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [A lot of people are writing poems and don't realize it. They have this limited idea of how the poem should sound or what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/a-lot-of-people-are-writing-poems-and-don-t-realize-it-they-have-this/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I am pretty interested in hybrid forms. I love graphic novels and I think there should be more graphic poems in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-am-pretty-interested-in-hybrid-forms-i-love-graphic-novels-and-i/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

> [I suppose it's useful in designating writing that tends to come from personal experience, work that delineates an "I," but it's a loose lasso,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-suppose-it-s-useful-in-designating-writing-that-tends-to-come-from/)

[Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

[Explore all 63 Matthea Harvey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/)

## More Accurate quotes

> [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/)

[Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/)

> [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/)

[Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/)

> [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/)

[Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/)

> [No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-accurate-thinker-will-judge-another-person-by-that-which-the-other/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/)

[Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/)

> [A film is a chain of very difficult decisions, and I think one of them is to choose an accurate cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-camara/a-film-is-a-chain-of-very-difficult-decisions-and-i-think-one-of-them/)

[Javier Camara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-camara/)

> [“Madoc makes a snorting sound, then turns to me. 'I am sure that Wren here wouldn't mind taking Lady Nore's castle and lands for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/madoc-makes-a-snorting-sound-then-turns-to-me-i-am-sure-that-wren/)

[Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/)

> [ He \[Groucho's father\] had absolutely no training, and if you had ever seen one of his suits, you'd realize what an accurate statement that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/he-groucho-s-father-had-absolutely-no-training-and-if-you-had-ever/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [... the attempt to render visual intricacy makes words feel unwieldy, like sacks of meaning that must be lugged into place, dragged here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/the-attempt-to-render-visual-intricacy-makes-words-feel-unwieldy-like/)

[Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/)

> [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/)

[Richard Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-walters/)

> [Selfish hedonism is not a pejorative. It is a description - an exactly accurate description of what is involved in homosexual relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/selfish-hedonism-is-not-a-pejorative-it-is-a-description-an-exactly/)

[Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/)

> [The western mantra is that Israel seeks negotiations without preconditions, while the Palestinians refuse. The opposite is more accurate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-western-mantra-is-that-israel-seeks-negotiations-without/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Love women! I hate feminism. "Hate" may be an accurate word, but too strong to use. I strongly oppose feminism because it's nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/love-women-i-hate-feminism-hate-may-be-an-accurate-word-but-too/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Most of my characters are romantic rather than sexual. I think that's an essential difference in my pictures. I think they are more accurate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hughes/most-of-my-characters-are-romantic-rather-than-sexual-i-think-that-s/)

[John Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hughes/)

> [While the Environmental Genome Project does not seek to assign allele frequencies, we are aware of the importance of accurate allele frequency estimates for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-wilson/while-the-environmental-genome-project-does-not-seek-to-assign-allele/)

[Samuel Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-wilson/)

[Browse all 847 Accurate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accurate/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if not a record of my daily life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Matthea Harvey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-are-certainly-an-accurate/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accurate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-are-certainly-an-accurate/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/matthea-harvey-10757_accurate_poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-ar_1084953.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if…” — Matthea Harvey",
                "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": "Matthea Harvey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Poems can't help but be personal....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-are-certainly-an-accurate/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/poems-can-t-help-but-be-personal-mine-are-certainly-an-accurate/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
