--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Usually form seems to find me in the…" description: "\"Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.\" — Matthea Harvey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg" --- # Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a… ![“Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.” quote by Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg) > “Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.” [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. The quote reflects that poetic form often appears spontaneously during creation, even if the poet does not deliberately start with it. **In simple terms:** Form emerges naturally while writing. Key Takeaway Embrace organic structure. Themes creativity process form Mood contemplative artistic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - artistic workshops - teaching poetry Key Concepts spontaneity structure poetry Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer structured or freeform writing? - How does form influence meaning? A Different Perspective Form can constrain freedom if forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Find me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-process-3439510/) [Poem Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-starting-3940534/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Starting Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-form-3940535/) [Starting out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-out/) [Usually Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usually-form-3940533/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-poem/) ## Related quotes > [The Northern idea of form is more of a process. The various units of the form overlap. You can't tell where some things stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/the-northern-idea-of-form-is-more-of-a-process-the-various-units-of/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [Once youve lived a little you will find that whatever you send out into the world comes back to you in one way or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slash/once-youve-lived-a-little-you-will-find-that-whatever-you-send-out/) [Slash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slash/) > [I can't picture myself starting out aiming to do anything or having much of an agenda.I think in writing a poem, I'm making some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-can-t-picture-myself-starting-out-aiming-to-do-anything-or-having/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I write poems from dreams pretty frequently. It's limiting to think the poem has to come from a sensical lyric "I" stating things clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-write-poems-from-dreams-pretty-frequently-it-s-limiting-to-think/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Writing a poem is always a process of subtracting: you start with all of language available to you, and you choose a smaller field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/writing-a-poem-is-always-a-process-of-subtracting-you-start-with-all/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [When I start writing a poem, I can usually know quite early on whether it's a lineated or prose poem, but I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-start-writing-a-poem-i-can-usually-know-quite-early-on-whether/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I have always thought of poetry as an act of celebration. Just by nature of writing a poem you are taking the time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/i-have-always-thought-of-poetry-as-an-act-of-celebration-just-by/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [Entering into writing a poem is an emotional endeavor for me as well as a spiritual and creative one. Having to write those poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/entering-into-writing-a-poem-is-an-emotional-endeavor-for-me-as-well/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [“Considering the ways in which so many of us waste our time, what would be wrong with a world in which everybody were writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/considering-the-ways-in-which-so-many-of-us-waste-our-time-what-would/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-have-never-started-a-poem-yet-whose-end-i-knew-writing-a-poem-is/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [When I feel something very intensely or deeply or personally, I can go to extremes of self-expression or self-analysis by writing a poem -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/when-i-feel-something-very-intensely-or-deeply-or-personally-i-can-go/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [The writing of a poem is, for me, in the first place, an almost total act of abandon leading to discovery leading to recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-bell/the-writing-of-a-poem-is-for-me-in-the-first-place-an-almost-total/) [Marvin Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-bell/) > [I remember that as I was writing a poem on 'Snow' when I was eight, I said aloud, 'I wish I could have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-remember-that-as-i-was-writing-a-poem-on-snow-when-i-was-eight-i/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [One of my greatest joys is poetry. I read it almost every day, and I've even taken a stab at writing some of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/one-of-my-greatest-joys-is-poetry-i-read-it-almost-every-day-and-i-ve/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [I should be writing a poem every morning but I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-d-souza/i-should-be-writing-a-poem-every-morning-but-i-m-not/) [Tony D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-d-souza/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [There isn't a grand plan at work in the progression of the books with respect to the line. I do want the books to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/there-isn-t-a-grand-plan-at-work-in-the-progression-of-the-books-with/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) [Explore all 63 Matthea Harvey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) ## More Find me quotes > [You usually find me writing what I like to think of as intelligent summer action and genre films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-landis/you-usually-find-me-writing-what-i-like-to-think-of-as-intelligent/) [Max Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-landis/) > [I'm a mix; I'm sure some of my Canadian friends find me very American, both in person and on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-m-a-mix-i-m-sure-some-of-my-canadian-friends-find-me-very-american/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [You won't know until it's over. You won't find me in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/you-won-t-know-until-it-s-over-you-won-t-find-me-in-time/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [Our perception of space alters the space. It is consciousness that finds meanings in all spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarthang-tulku/our-perception-of-space-alters-the-space-it-is-consciousness-that/) [Tarthang Tulku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarthang-tulku/) > [Meaning. If you're going to die, you want to find meaning in life. You want to connect the dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/meaning-if-you-re-going-to-die-you-want-to-find-meaning-in-life-you/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [Paper or razor blade, never give up And just remember just to hold out more A couple years ago I couldn't just control that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-sheeran/paper-or-razor-blade-never-give-up-and-just-remember-just-to-hold-out/) [Ed Sheeran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-sheeran/) > [We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light...We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/we-can-find-meaning-and-reward-by-serving-some-higher-purpose-than/) [George H. W. 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"For all that I must keep reminding you that I am not a bloodhound, it's true that on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-did-you-find-me-anyway-for-all-that-i-must-keep-reminding-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here I am in a rabbit run, here I am in a valley of pine, waiting for you to find me. I could pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/here-i-am-in-a-rabbit-run-here-i-am-in-a-valley-of-pine-waiting-for/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [Witch, do this for me, Find me a moon made of longing. Then cut it sliver thin, and having cut it, hang it high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/witch-do-this-for-me-find-me-a-moon-made-of-longing-then-cut-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm ripe for the picking for the Scientologists - one of those creeps. Someone's got to find me. Some little weird cult can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-m-ripe-for-the-picking-for-the-scientologists-one-of-those-creeps/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Hip hop is still strong. As an art form, music helps people express themselves, find meaning in their own lives and connect with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-parker/hip-hop-is-still-strong-as-an-art-form-music-helps-people-express/) [Erik Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-parker/) > [Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-that-is-awful-to-language/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 410 Find me quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthea Harvey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Find me" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/matthea-harvey-10757_find-me_usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-pro_451694.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out…” — 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": "Usually form seems to find me...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/#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 } } ] } ```