--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing I had written before 'Mary…" description: "\"Nothing I had written before 'Mary Poppins' had anything to do with children, and I have always assumed, when I thought about it at all, that she had c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/p-l-travers-18631_about_nothing-i-had-written-before-mary-poppin_2901480.png" --- # Nothing I had written before 'Mary Poppins' had anything… ![“Nothing I had written before 'Mary Poppins' had anything to do with children, and I have always assumed, when I thought about it at all, that she had come out of the same wall of nothingness as the poetry, myth and legend that had absorbed me all my writing life.” quote by P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/p-l-travers-18631_about_nothing-i-had-written-before-mary-poppin_2901480.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/p-l-travers-18631_about_nothing-i-had-written-before-mary-poppin_2901480.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/p-l-travers-18631_about_nothing-i-had-written-before-mary-poppin_2901480.png) > “Nothing I had written before 'Mary Poppins' had anything to do with children, and I have always assumed, when I thought about it at all, that she had come out of the same wall of nothingness as the poetry, myth and legend that had absorbed me all my writing life.” [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Her earlier work lacked childlike wonder; Mary Poppins emerged from a void filled with myth and poetry. **In simple terms:** Childlike wonder arose from creative emptiness. Key Takeaway Embrace creative voids to inspire imagination. Themes creativity imagination mythology Mood inspirational reflective Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing - storytelling - artistic development - educational content Key Concepts literary inspiration creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can emptiness fuel artistic creation? - What role does myth play in storytelling? A Different Perspective A void can stifle if not harnessed creatively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Absorb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorb/) [Absorbed Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorbed-writing-4127671/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) [Assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legend/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mary/) [Mary poppins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mary-poppins/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Nothingness Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness-poetry-4127669/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-myth-1185571/) [Same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same/) [She](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/she/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wall Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-nothingness-4127670/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/wherever-the-poetry-of-myth-is-interpreted-as-biography-history-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think the idea of 'Mary Poppins' has been blowing in and out of me, like a curtain at a window, all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-think-the-idea-of-mary-poppins-has-been-blowing-in-and-out-of-me/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I think that 'Mary Poppins' needs a subtle reader, in many respects, to grasp all its implications, and I understand that these cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-think-that-mary-poppins-needs-a-subtle-reader-in-many-respects-to/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [When I did 'The Sound of Music' and 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Americanization of Emily,' all three were in the can and had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/when-i-did-the-sound-of-music-and-mary-poppins-and-the/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [I grew up singing since the age of three. Vocally trained since the age of eight. Fascinated by Mary Poppins and all those musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-blonsky/i-grew-up-singing-since-the-age-of-three-vocally-trained-since-the/) [Nikki Blonsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-blonsky/) > [Conan the Barbarian,' 'Star Wars,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Wizard of Oz' were my earliest VHS obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/conan-the-barbarian-star-wars-mary-poppins-and-the-wizard-of-oz-were/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [We grew up listening to a variety of music, such as Gospel/Christian, R&B old/new school, jazz, blues, Mozart, Mary Poppins, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-carter/we-grew-up-listening-to-a-variety-of-music-such-as-gospel-christian-r/) [Michelle Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-carter/) > [I saw 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Little Mermaid,' 'The Lion King,' 'Mary Poppins' - I saw all of those before I was introduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-zegler/i-saw-beauty-and-the-beast-little-mermaid-the-lion-king-mary-poppins/) [Rachel Zegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-zegler/) > [Every head turned to see two more security guards appear, each holding a Bagshaw by the back of the neck (which might have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/every-head-turned-to-see-two-more-security-guards-appear-each-holding/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [I think, the 'Van Dyke Show' and 'Mary Poppins' are two of the best periods of my life. I had so much fun, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-think-the-van-dyke-show-and-mary-poppins-are-two-of-the-best/) [Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/) > [“Baa Baa Black Sheep’ makes Marx’s Capital look like Mary Poppins .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/baa-baa-black-sheep-makes-marx-s-capital-look-like-mary-poppins/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“She opened her purse and began to pull out all sorts of things—her phone, a tablet, a cosmetics bag, tissue and headphones. Jesus, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bay/she-opened-her-purse-and-began-to-pull-out-all-sorts-of-things-her/) [Louise Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bay/) > [I look back at my childhood, and the films that I remember the most are things like 'Mary Poppins,' 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' 'Willy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-asbury/i-look-back-at-my-childhood-and-the-films-that-i-remember-the-most/) [Kelly Asbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-asbury/) > [Did you ever notice the color of Mary Poppins' petticoats? They were kind of orange and apricot and red. I think she had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/did-you-ever-notice-the-color-of-mary-poppins-petticoats-they-were/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [“Kat turned back to Hale. "The Mary Poppins?" "Seemed like a good idea at the time." "Oh. Yeah. Obviously. 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Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [More and more I’ve become convinced that the great treasure to possess is the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/more-and-more-i-ve-become-convinced-that-the-great-treasure-to/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I think the idea of 'Mary Poppins' has been blowing in and out of me, like a curtain at a window, all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-think-the-idea-of-mary-poppins-has-been-blowing-in-and-out-of-me/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [Sorrow lies like a heartbeat behind everything I have written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/sorrow-lies-like-a-heartbeat-behind-everything-i-have-written/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [Stories are like birds flying, here and gone in a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/stories-are-like-birds-flying-here-and-gone-in-a-moment/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [Every child needs to have for itself not only its loving parents and siblings and friends of its own age, but a grown-up friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/every-child-needs-to-have-for-itself-not-only-its-loving-parents-and/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I think that 'Mary Poppins' needs a subtle reader, in many respects, to grasp all its implications, and I understand that these cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-think-that-mary-poppins-needs-a-subtle-reader-in-many-respects-to/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [The Irish, as a race, have the oral tradition in their blood. A direct question to them is an anathema, but in other cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/the-irish-as-a-race-have-the-oral-tradition-in-their-blood-a-direct/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [When I was a child, love to me was what the sea is to a fish: something you swim in while you are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/when-i-was-a-child-love-to-me-was-what-the-sea-is-to-a-fish-something/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/a-writer-is-after-all-only-half-his-book-the-other-half-is-the-reader/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [With the word creative we stand under a mystery. 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