--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would not recommend poetry as a career…" description: "\"I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first place, it's impossible in this time and place - in this culture - to make poetry a career. The w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/maxine-kumin-16101_careers_i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career_712853.png" --- # I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first… ![“I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first place, it's impossible in this time and place - in this culture - to make poetry a career. The writing of poetry is one thing. It's an obsession, the scratching of a divine itch, and has nothing to do with money. You can, however, make a…” quote by Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/maxine-kumin-16101_careers_i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career_712853.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/maxine-kumin-16101_careers_i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career_712853.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/maxine-kumin-16101_careers_i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career_712853.png) > “I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first place, it's impossible in this time and place - in this culture - to make poetry a career. The writing of poetry is one thing. It's an obsession, the scratching of a divine itch, and has nothing to do with money. You can, however, make a career out of being a poet by teaching, traveling around, and giving lectures. It's a thin living at best.” [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry is a passionate art, not a reliable source of income; one can earn a modest living through teaching and speaking but not solely by writing poems. **In simple terms:** Poetry fuels passion, not profit. Key Takeaway Seek teaching or lecturing to support poetic work. Themes art economics career passion Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice observational When to use this quote - teaching literature - public readings - grant applications - freelance writing Key Concepts creative expression financial reality livelihood Questions to Reflect On - How can poets balance artistic integrity with financial needs? - What alternative income streams suit creative work? A Different Perspective Even with teaching, income can be unstable and competitive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Lectures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lectures/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-poetry/) ## Related quotes > [To think of writing poetry as a "career" is not only ridiculous, it's dangerous. To the imagination. To the way one thinks of art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/to-think-of-writing-poetry-as-a-career-is-not-only-ridiculous-it-s/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [One good way to start writing poetry is to read all kinds of poetry: not just in order to imitate but to fill up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-worth/one-good-way-to-start-writing-poetry-is-to-read-all-kinds-of-poetry/) [Valerie Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-worth/) > [I don't think that I ever believed that poetry would be a career. I have always thought of poems as something more private than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/i-don-t-think-that-i-ever-believed-that-poetry-would-be-a-career-i/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [As things are, and as fundamentally they must always be, poetry is not a career, but a mug's game. No honest poet can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/as-things-are-and-as-fundamentally-they-must-always-be-poetry-is-not/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I never considered I might make a career out of writing as I was going to school, so when I did turn my attentions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-never-considered-i-might-make-a-career-out-of-writing-as-i-was/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I want a career writing these novels that I can be proud of. And then I want one as a screenwriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-want-a-career-writing-these-novels-that-i-can-be-proud-of-and-then/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [“How many people make a career out of writing anyway?' Cath snapped. She felt like everything inside her was snapping. Her nerves. Her temper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/how-many-people-make-a-career-out-of-writing-anyway-cath-snapped-she/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I wrote lots of scripts that never got made and they were terrible. I thought they were good at the time. You can't write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-holofcener/i-wrote-lots-of-scripts-that-never-got-made-and-they-were-terrible-i/) [Nicole Holofcener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-holofcener/) > [Out of the attempt to harmonize our actual life with our aspirations, our experience with our faith, we make poetry, - or, it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/out-of-the-attempt-to-harmonize-our-actual-life-with-our-aspirations/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [“For a poet is an airy thing, winged and holy, and he is not able to make poetry until he becomes inspired and goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-a-poet-is-an-airy-thing-winged-and-holy-and-he-is-not-able-to/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We're nature. Our minds are nature. Our desire to make poetry is nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/we-re-nature-our-minds-are-nature-our-desire-to-make-poetry-is-nature/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [“How should all the apparatus of heaven and earth, from the farthest firmament to the tender bosom of the mother who nourished us, make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/how-should-all-the-apparatus-of-heaven-and-earth-from-the-farthest/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A short story relies on those values that make poetry and jazz what they are: tension, rhythms, inner beat, into unforeseen within foreseen parameters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/a-short-story-relies-on-those-values-that-make-poetry-and-jazz-what/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/how-do-you-explain-what-it-feels-like-to-get-on-the-stage-and-make/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [The dead made this world. We didn't make it. They made the poetry and the songs and the customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-dead-made-this-world-we-didn-t-make-it-they-made-the-poetry-and/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More by Maxine Kumin > [Poetry makes nothing happen. It survives in the valley of its saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/poetry-makes-nothing-happen-it-survives-in-the-valley-of-its-saying/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [There is an extraordinary degree of amity among Washington poets. They hang together. You would be hard pressed to find that in Manhattan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/there-is-an-extraordinary-degree-of-amity-among-washington-poets-they/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [I don't think I've ever felt terribly comfortable writing about my body. First of all, I think I took my body for granted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-felt-terribly-comfortable-writing-about-my/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [The time on either side of now stands fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/the-time-on-either-side-of-now-stands-fast/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [God serves the choosy. They know what to want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/god-serves-the-choosy-they-know-what-to-want/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [And the pond's stillness nippled as if by rain instead is pocked with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/and-the-pond-s-stillness-nippled-as-if-by-rain-instead-is-pocked-with/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [Women are not supposed to have uteruses, especially in poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/women-are-not-supposed-to-have-uteruses-especially-in-poems/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [To build is to dwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/to-build-is-to-dwell/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [... people get confidential at midnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/people-get-confidential-at-midnight/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [A lot of people use the dictionary to find out how to spell words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/a-lot-of-people-use-the-dictionary-to-find-out-how-to-spell-words/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [So many poems you go into and come up empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/so-many-poems-you-go-into-and-come-up-empty/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [It is important to act as if bearing witness matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/it-is-important-to-act-as-if-bearing-witness-matters/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [Everything pays for growing tame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/everything-pays-for-growing-tame/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [When Sleeping Beauty wakes up, she is almost fifty years old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/when-sleeping-beauty-wakes-up-she-is-almost-fifty-years-old/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [If I'm working on a poem, it's at the forefront of my mind; I'm working on it when I'm cooking dinner or stretched out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/if-i-m-working-on-a-poem-it-s-at-the-forefront-of-my-mind-i-m-working/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) [Explore all 41 Maxine Kumin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) ## More Careers quotes > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [The only thing I try to watch carefully is that I never lose the love for the instrument. That's also why I decided against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nils-frahm/the-only-thing-i-try-to-watch-carefully-is-that-i-never-lose-the-love/) [Nils Frahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nils-frahm/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [There is so much temptation to hold on to my career even more now. To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [Everything I've been through, everything I'm about to go through in my career and my life, if my family wasn't with me and didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-malone/everything-i-ve-been-through-everything-i-m-about-to-go-through-in-my/) [Karl Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-malone/) > [An image has stuck for most of my career and it isn't flattering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-fowler/an-image-has-stuck-for-most-of-my-career-and-it-isn-t-flattering/) [Robbie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-fowler/) Browse all 6,154 Careers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would not recommend poetry as a career. 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