--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Empty-page staring again tonight. It's…" description: "\"“Empty-page staring again tonight. It's maddening. I suppose people who don't write (like the Connollies) imagine anything that can be though can be ex..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/philip-larkin-1822_poetry_empty-page-staring-again-tonight-it-s-ma_1311260.jpg" --- # Empty-page staring again tonight. It's maddening. I… ![“Empty-page staring again tonight. It's maddening. I suppose people who don't write (like the Connollies) imagine anything that can be though can be expressed. Well, I don't know. I can't do it. It's this sort of thing that makes me belittle the whole business: what's the good of a 'talent' if you…” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/philip-larkin-1822_poetry_empty-page-staring-again-tonight-it-s-ma_1311260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/philip-larkin-1822_poetry_empty-page-staring-again-tonight-it-s-ma_1311260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/philip-larkin-1822_poetry_empty-page-staring-again-tonight-it-s-ma_1311260.jpg) > ““Empty-page staring again tonight. It's maddening. I suppose people who don't write (like the Connollies) imagine anything that can be though can be expressed. Well, I don't know. I can't do it. It's this sort of thing that makes me belittle the whole business: what's the good of a 'talent' if you can't do it when you want to? What should we think of a woodcarver who couldn't woodcarver? or a pianist who couldn't play the piano? Bah, likewise grrr.”” [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## 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 laments creative block, questioning the value of talent when it fails to produce on demand. **In simple terms:** Talent feels useless without output. Key Takeaway Accept limits, seek process over perfection. Themes creativity self‑doubt talent perfectionism Mood frustrated reflective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - writing - teaching - performance anxiety - self‑criticism Key Concepts existential angst artistic block Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate a habit that bypasses the need for immediate brilliance? - What small, low‑stakes actions could rekindle your creative flow? A Different Perspective Even with talent, external pressures can inhibit expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skill/) ## Related quotes > [“I lost count of the incidences of "We can imagine" or "It is safe to imagine" or "We can speculate" or "We can picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermione-lee/i-lost-count-of-the-incidences-of-we-can-imagine-or-it-is-safe-to/) [Hermione Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermione-lee/) > [I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-heard-someone-from-the-music-business-saying-they-are-no-longer-2/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-heard-someone-from-the-music-business-saying-they-are-no-longer/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Just don't let anything get in the way of what you want to achieve. A lot of people get knocked back by friends, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sampson/just-don-t-let-anything-get-in-the-way-of-what-you-want-to-achieve-a/) [George Sampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sampson/) > [I'm still trying to find the actor I want to be, but I know what kind of the talent I want to be around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-david-washington/i-m-still-trying-to-find-the-actor-i-want-to-be-but-i-know-what-kind/) [John David Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-david-washington/) > [I'm all about talent. I love talent and I want to work with as much great talent as possible. My job as editor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-bailey/i-m-all-about-talent-i-love-talent-and-i-want-to-work-with-as-much/) [Glenda Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-bailey/) > [I want to risk hitting my head on the ceiling of my talent. I want to really test it out and say: O.K., you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-want-to-risk-hitting-my-head-on-the-ceiling-of-my-talent-i-want-to/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [You need a particular talent only to want to please. I don't have this talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantona/you-need-a-particular-talent-only-to-want-to-please-i-don-t-have-this/) [Eric Cantona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantona/) > [When you're a young talent, and you want to launch your brand, you always have tons of questions: Where should I produce? Should I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-arnault/when-you-re-a-young-talent-and-you-want-to-launch-your-brand-you/) [Delphine Arnault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-arnault/) > ['Til such time that the U.S. produces a continuous supply of home-grown talent, I want U.S. visa programs that support people from abroad come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-tillis/til-such-time-that-the-u-s-produces-a-continuous-supply-of-home-grown/) [Thom Tillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-tillis/) > [The cool thing about a start-up - this is sort of the entrepreneur side of me - is that you can make it grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-knight/the-cool-thing-about-a-start-up-this-is-sort-of-the-entrepreneur-side/) [Hilary Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-knight/) > [ \[People\] don't know the talent and I want to show them. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-sunshine/people-don-t-know-the-talent-and-i-want-to-show-them/) [Tony Sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-sunshine/) > [In ballet, it doesn't matter who you are. If you're good, it's such a rare thing, so unusual, that the talent will go wherever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-hayward/in-ballet-it-doesn-t-matter-who-you-are-if-you-re-good-it-s-such-a/) [Francesca Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-hayward/) > [I was pretty ambitious as a child to want to be a star with the talent I had, but I want to finish what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-otway/i-was-pretty-ambitious-as-a-child-to-want-to-be-a-star-with-the/) [John Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-otway/) > [As a producer, you really have - you're able to hand-pick all the talent that you want to be surrounded with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-swank/as-a-producer-you-really-have-you-re-able-to-hand-pick-all-the-talent/) [Hilary Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-swank/) ## More by Philip Larkin > [Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/deprivation-is-for-me-what-daffodils-were-for-wordsworth/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Only one ship is seeking us, a black-Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her backA huge and birdless silence. In her wakeNo waters breed or break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/only-one-ship-is-seeking-us-a-black-sailed-unfamiliar-towing-at-her/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [And immediately Rather than words comes the thought of high windows: The sun-comprehending glass, And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows Nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/and-immediately-rather-than-words-comes-the-thought-of-high-windows/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Living toys are something novel, But it soon wears off somehow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/living-toys-are-something-novel-but-it-soon-wears-off-somehow/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Once I am sure there's nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/once-i-am-sure-there-s-nothing-going-on-i-step-inside-letting-the/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes, And leaves what something hidden from us chose, age, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/life-is-first-boredom-then-fear-whether-or-not-we-use-it-it-goes-and/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“It never worked for me. Something to do with violence A long way back, and wrong rewards, And arrogant eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-never-worked-for-me-something-to-do-with-violence-a-long-way-back/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [So many things I had thought forgotten Return to my mind with stranger pain: Like letters that arrive addressed to someone Who left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/so-many-things-i-had-thought-forgotten-return-to-my-mind-with/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“One of the quainter quirks of life is that we shall never know who dies on the same day as we do ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/one-of-the-quainter-quirks-of-life-is-that-we-shall-never-know-who/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“I sit in my room like Miss Havisham, about whom I have been reading this week. Better the Dickens you know than the Dickens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-sit-in-my-room-like-miss-havisham-about-whom-i-have-been-reading/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“When I throw back my head and howl People (women mostly) say But you've always done what you want, You always get your way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/when-i-throw-back-my-head-and-howl-people-women-mostly-say-but-you-ve/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for-that-matter-should-try-to/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [But superstition, like belief, must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/but-superstition-like-belief-must-die/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/side-by-side-their-faces-blurred-the-earl-and-countess-lie-in-stone/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) [Explore all 206 Philip Larkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## More Belittle quotes > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [They misunderstand us, they unwittingly belittle us, they do something that they think is nice that instead just makes us mad. And those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-lipman/they-misunderstand-us-they-unwittingly-belittle-us-they-do-something/) Joanne Lipman > [Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/do-not-under-any-circumstances-belittle-a-work-of-fiction-by-trying/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Occasionally, I like to select a mentor, a master, and let him guide me through a revision of one of my paintings... I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-lebrun/occasionally-i-like-to-select-a-mentor-a-master-and-let-him-guide-me/) [Rico Lebrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-lebrun/) > [The cross of Christ is the response of God to men for belittling His name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/the-cross-of-christ-is-the-response-of-god-to-men-for-belittling-his/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [“Do not share your thoughts with people who think that what you are thinking is not worth thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/do-not-share-your-thoughts-with-people-who-think-that-what-you-are/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Besides, anyone with an Internet connection feels they have the credentials to critique or belittle anything these days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/besides-anyone-with-an-internet-connection-feels-they-have-the/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [“People who belittle people, will be LITTLE people, and will accomplish very Little”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/people-who-belittle-people-will-be-little-people-and-will-accomplish/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“People will oppose your progress. They will remind you of your past failures, belittle you, etc. The only way to stand against such opposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-mashego/people-will-oppose-your-progress-they-will-remind-you-of-your-past/) [D.S. Mashego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-mashego/) > [“And she looked upon the mirror that was given as a gift. She hated everything about it, from the circular size of it, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/and-she-looked-upon-the-mirror-that-was-given-as-a-gift-she-hated/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [When my wife and I met, I couldn't talk to her - and my defense mechanism is sarcasm. I belittle someone with verbal pokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-vogel/when-my-wife-and-i-met-i-couldn-t-talk-to-her-and-my-defense/) [Mike Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-vogel/) > [People want to know those details. They think it gives them greater insight into a piece of art, but when they approach a painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/people-want-to-know-those-details-they-think-it-gives-them-greater/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [A person is bound to lose when he talks about himself; if he belittles himself, he is believed; if he praises himself, he isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-person-is-bound-to-lose-when-he-talks-about-himself-if-he-belittles/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I would permit no man, no matter what his colour might be, to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-would-permit-no-man-no-matter-what-his-colour-might-be-to-narrow/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Only those beneath me can envy or hate me. I have never been envied nor hated; I am above no one. Only those above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/only-those-beneath-me-can-envy-or-hate-me-i-have-never-been-envied/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) Browse all 171 Belittle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Empty-page staring again tonight. It's maddening. I suppose people who don't write (like the Connollies) imagine anything that can be though can be expressed. Well, I don't know. I can't do it. It's this sort of thing that makes me belittle the whole business: what's the good of a 'talent' if you can't do it when you want to? What should we think of a woodcarver who couldn't woodcarver? or a pianist who couldn't play the piano? 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