--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a young poet, or an old poet, for…" description: "\"I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/philip-larkin-1822_couple_i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for_241930.jpg" --- # I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter… ![“I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it but a couple of weeks later. Then he should see if it pleases anyone else, by sending it to the kind of magazine he likes reading.” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/philip-larkin-1822_couple_i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for_241930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/philip-larkin-1822_couple_i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for_241930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/philip-larkin-1822_couple_i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for_241930.jpg) > “I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it but a couple of weeks later. Then he should see if it pleases anyone else, by sending it to the kind of magazine he likes reading.” [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. Poets should write for personal satisfaction first, then test the work’s appeal by sharing it with a preferred audience. **In simple terms:** Write for yourself, then see if others like it. Key Takeaway Create, then seek feedback. Themes creativity self‑reflection audience literary criticism Mood contemplative introspective Type advisory literary. When to use this quote - personal writing - magazine submission - peer review - literary contests Key Concepts subjectivity validation publication process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal expression with audience expectations? - What criteria define a “pleasing” poem? A Different Perspective Personal taste may not align with broader audience preferences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Likes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likes/) [Magazines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magazines/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Old Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-poet-1673855/) [Please](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/please/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-matter-2422992/) [Poet Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-old-1039161/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Think Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-young/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-poet-405567/) ## Related quotes > [My poems are certainly in the lyric tradition, but perhaps a reader can tell me more precisely who I am as a poet. 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A silly little girl and an old poet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-kostenko/that-is-all-two-epochs-met-a-silly-little-girl-and-an-old-poet/) [Lina Kostenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-kostenko/) > [“Justice is in the hands of the gods, an old poet wrote, mortal hands hold only mercy and the sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/justice-is-in-the-hands-of-the-gods-an-old-poet-wrote-mortal-hands/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [There is another old poet whose name I do not now remember who said, 'Truth is the daughter of Time.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/there-is-another-old-poet-whose-name-i-do-not-now-remember-who-said/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As a very young poet, I had been brought up on that dogma that politics was bad for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/as-a-very-young-poet-i-had-been-brought-up-on-that-dogma-that/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [As a young poet, you need corroboration, and that's what publication does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/as-a-young-poet-you-need-corroboration-and-that-s-what-publication/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Bad luck for the young poet would be a rich father, an early marriage, an early success or the ability to do anything well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bad-luck-for-the-young-poet-would-be-a-rich-father-an-early-marriage/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [When I came back to New York, it was such a joke because I was always referred to as the pure young poet who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/when-i-came-back-to-new-york-it-was-such-a-joke-because-i-was-always/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [But I'm too old to be written about as a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/but-i-m-too-old-to-be-written-about-as-a-young-poet/) [Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/) > [“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [“Life is slow dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/life-is-slow-dying/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) [Explore all 206 Philip Larkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## More Couple quotes > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [Sometimes they were together so often that it felt as though they really were a couple; sometimes weeks and months would go by before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-they-were-together-so-often-that-it-felt-as-though-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [I've had a couple knockouts, but I feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanderlei-silva/i-ve-had-a-couple-knockouts-but-i-feel-good/) [Wanderlei Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanderlei-silva/) > [There are bands that I am friends with, who will invite me up on stage. 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