--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I'll flip through the newest issue…" description: "\"“And I'll flip through the newest issue, walking back from my blue mailbox, hunting for the poem he chose over mine, and it'll be the same thing as alw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholson-baker-3405_impostor_and-i-ll-flip-through-the-newest-issue-w_2032119.png" --- # And I'll flip through the newest issue, walking back from… ![“And I'll flip through the newest issue, walking back from my blue mailbox, hunting for the poem he chose over mine, and it'll be the same thing as always. The prose will have pulled back, and the poem will be there, cavorting, saying, I'm a poem, I'm a poem. No, you're not! You're an impostor…” quote by Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholson-baker-3405_impostor_and-i-ll-flip-through-the-newest-issue-w_2032119.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholson-baker-3405_impostor_and-i-ll-flip-through-the-newest-issue-w_2032119.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholson-baker-3405_impostor_and-i-ll-flip-through-the-newest-issue-w_2032119.png) > ““And I'll flip through the newest issue, walking back from my blue mailbox, hunting for the poem he chose over mine, and it'll be the same thing as always. The prose will have pulled back, and the poem will be there, cavorting, saying, I'm a poem, I'm a poem. No, you're not! You're an impostor, you're a toy train of pretend stanzas of chopped garbage. Just like my poem was.”” [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels eclipsed by another's work, seeing their own as inferior and fake, highlighting artistic insecurity and rivalry. **In simple terms:** Feeling inferior to another poet's work. Key Takeaway Recognize your own voice. Themes insecurity artistic rivalry self‑doubt Mood frustrated reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - personal journaling - creative collaboration Key Concepts authorship comparative evaluation creative identity Questions to Reflect On - How does competition affect your creative process? - What defines a genuine poem for you? A Different Perspective The comparison may ignore the value of diverse styles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impostor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impostor/) [Like Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-poem-535850/) [Poem Chose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-chose-3737850/) [Poem Impostor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-impostor-3737849/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose Pulled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-pulled-3737851/) ## Related quotes > [“The sky is a tight gray sheet of Baroque prose pulled snug”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/the-sky-is-a-tight-gray-sheet-of-baroque-prose-pulled-snug/) [Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/) > [What's interesting about songs where the writer is genuinely in love with words is that it's easy to read the lyrics like a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reed/what-s-interesting-about-songs-where-the-writer-is-genuinely-in-love/) [Ann Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reed/) > [“A voice from the dark called out, "The poets must give us imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar imagination of disaster. Peace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/a-voice-from-the-dark-called-out-the-poets-must-give-us-imagination/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [“I sink into it completely, letting everything else fall away so all that's left is this. A moment like a poem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-kirby/i-sink-into-it-completely-letting-everything-else-fall-away-so-all/) [Jessi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-kirby/) > [“He wanted to tell the baby that Paris was like a poem in stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/he-wanted-to-tell-the-baby-that-paris-was-like-a-poem-in-stone/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [To declaim freedom verses seems like a poem within a poem; freedom requires guns, it requires arms, but no feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/to-declaim-freedom-verses-seems-like-a-poem-within-a-poem-freedom/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [If you can say the lyrics almost like a poem and they stand up, that's a great thing. Some songs have great lyrics and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-connick-jr/if-you-can-say-the-lyrics-almost-like-a-poem-and-they-stand-up-that-s/) [Harry Connick, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-connick-jr/) > [When I'm most deeply involved in my writing, sometimes I do dream about poetry, and occasionally I wake up from a dream with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/when-i-m-most-deeply-involved-in-my-writing-sometimes-i-do-dream/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Don’t you think every face tells its own story? Like a book? More like a poem. If you study it long enough, you’ll soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-tsukiyama/don-t-you-think-every-face-tells-its-own-story-like-a-book-more-like/) [Gail Tsukiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-tsukiyama/) > [I like when a poem ends on its "receipts," meaning it gives me something tactile or tangible to dwell on as I exit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-joseph/i-like-when-a-poem-ends-on-its-receipts-meaning-it-gives-me-something/) [Allison Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-joseph/) > [“He looks like a poem. One of those mournfully beautiful ones with short, unfamiliar words that sound ethereal when spoken and completely nonsensical when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/velvetoscar/he-looks-like-a-poem-one-of-those-mournfully-beautiful-ones-with/) [Velvetoscar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/velvetoscar/) > [Poetry is like a puzzle-solving strategy for me. I like to poem my way through tricky questions and ideas. That's about the only consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/poetry-is-like-a-puzzle-solving-strategy-for-me-i-like-to-poem-my-way/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [“There is an Anglo-Saxon form of riddling that plays with the polarities of words like bright and dark, cold and warm, throwing them against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-hausman/there-is-an-anglo-saxon-form-of-riddling-that-plays-with-the/) [Gerald Hausman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-hausman/) > [There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-something-about-a-bureaucrat-that-does-not-like-a-poem/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“I think he's wonderful and strange and kind of like a poem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-think-he-s-wonderful-and-strange-and-kind-of-like-a-poem/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) ## More by Nicholson Baker > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Just as the people who lived through the Second World War thought different things on different days, I think everybody who goes through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/just-as-the-people-who-lived-through-the-second-world-war-thought/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I’ve always thought of myself as shy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-shy/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [There's something paralyzing about being a writer that you have to escape. I don't want to think of myself as a guy who's written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/there-s-something-paralyzing-about-being-a-writer-that-you-have-to/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The great thing about novels is that you can be as unshy as you want to be. I'm very polite in person. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-great-thing-about-novels-is-that-you-can-be-as-unshy-as-you-want/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“Why are things beautiful? I don´t know. That´s a good question. Isn´t it pleasing when you ask a question of a person, a teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/why-are-things-beautiful-i-don-t-know-that-s-a-good-question-isn-t-it/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm suspicious of full-replacement programs - that is, pronouncements that one way of doing something will entirely supplant another, and that in fact we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-m-suspicious-of-full-replacement-programs-that-is-pronouncements/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Printed books usually outlive bookstores and the publishers who brought them out. They sit around, demanding nothing, for decades. That's one of their nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/printed-books-usually-outlive-bookstores-and-the-publishers-who/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The neurons that do expire are the ones that made imitation possible. When you are capable of skillful imitation, the sweep of choices before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-neurons-that-do-expire-are-the-ones-that-made-imitation-possible/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [What's somewhat puzzling is that Churchill himself knew what the reaction would be to any sort of aerial attack on cities, because in 1938…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/what-s-somewhat-puzzling-is-that-churchill-himself-knew-what-the/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Shoes are the first adult machines we are given to master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/shoes-are-the-first-adult-machines-we-are-given-to-master/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [As soon as you start doing that - changing things - it seems self-evident to me that you've entered the world of make-believe. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/as-soon-as-you-start-doing-that-changing-things-it-seems-self-evident/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I don't do all that well in the writerly world. I'm happier being outside the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-don-t-do-all-that-well-in-the-writerly-world-i-m-happier-being/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [E.B. White's essays are the best things I've read about Maine - especially the one in which he's not sure if he can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/e-b-white-s-essays-are-the-best-things-i-ve-read-about-maine/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The fact that we had independently decided to sweep our apartments on that Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend together, I took as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-fact-that-we-had-independently-decided-to-sweep-our-apartments-on/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Explore all 131 Nicholson Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## More Impostor quotes > [“The situation suddenly felt absurd, and he had to control the urge to laugh out loud, the sheer folly of the midnight escapade catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fraser-collard/the-situation-suddenly-felt-absurd-and-he-had-to-control-the-urge-to/) [Paul Fraser Collard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fraser-collard/) > [I'm someone who's experienced impostor syndrome - as I think a lot of people have with their careers, especially when they pursue what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-porowski/i-m-someone-who-s-experienced-impostor-syndrome-as-i-think-a-lot-of/) [Antoni Porowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-porowski/) > [I felt like an impostor, taking all that money for reciting ten or twelve lines of nonsense a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-felt-like-an-impostor-taking-all-that-money-for-reciting-ten-or/) [Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/) > [ If we believe that he \[Jesus Christ\]really countenanced the follies, the falsehoods, and the charlatanisms, which his biographers \[writers of the New Testament\]father upon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-believe-that-he-jesus-christ-really-countenanced-the-follies/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Its funny when people recently change their attitude to gain entrance into your heart, which may only ignite your passion to close the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/its-funny-when-people-recently-change-their-attitude-to-gain-entrance/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“it is shame to be an impostor…it only means u gave up!…it is impossible to be perfect…but it is possible to believe in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody/it-is-shame-to-be-an-impostor-it-only-means-u-gave-up-it-is/) [woody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody/) > [“The Man of Truth has learned that Illusion is the One Reality, and that Substance is the Great Impostor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-man-of-truth-has-learned-that-illusion-is-the-one-reality-and/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“He who thinks of himself as a wise man is an impostor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-bueno/he-who-thinks-of-himself-as-a-wise-man-is-an-impostor/) [Gustavo Bueno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-bueno/) > [“An impostor would not have the same value as the original person in society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/an-impostor-would-not-have-the-same-value-as-the-original-person-in/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [I was an impostor, the worthy associate of a brigand, &c., &c., and all this for an atom of chlorine put in the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-laurent/i-was-an-impostor-the-worthy-associate-of-a-brigand-c-c-and-all-this/) [Auguste Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-laurent/) > [Those who are seeking the true religion will never find it outside the Catholic Church alone, because, in every other religion, if they trace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/those-who-are-seeking-the-true-religion-will-never-find-it-outside/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [I am a big self-doubter. I suffer from Impostor Syndrome. Whenever I start a new job, I think: 'I'm going to be found out.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-dennis/i-am-a-big-self-doubter-i-suffer-from-impostor-syndrome-whenever-i/) [Les Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-dennis/) > [Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/beware-of-listening-to-this-impostor-you-are-undone-if-you-once/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Before we can realize who we really are, we must become conscious of the fact that the person we think we are, here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/before-we-can-realize-who-we-really-are-we-must-become-conscious-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I no longer get into stupid thought wormholes about identity and stuff. At one time, I did have some impostor syndrome about acting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-no-longer-get-into-stupid-thought-wormholes-about-identity-and/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) [Browse all 56 Impostor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impostor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And I'll flip through the newest issue, walking back from my blue mailbox, hunting for the poem he chose over mine, and it'll be the same thing as always. The prose will have pulled back, and the poem will be there, cavorting, saying, I'm a poem, I'm a poem. No, you're not! You're an impostor, you're a toy train of pretend stanzas of chopped garbage. 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