--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels are about other people and poems…" description: "\"Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself\" — Philip Larkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg" --- # Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself ![“Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg) > “Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself” [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. Literature reflects others' lives while poetry expresses personal experience. **In simple terms:** Stories about others, poems about self. Key Takeaway Balance external observation with inner reflection. Themes literature poetry self‑reflection Mood contemplative introspective Type literary reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading groups - creative writing classes Key Concepts narrative subjectivity empathy Questions to Reflect On - How do you let personal voice shape stories about others? - Can poetry bridge personal and communal experience? A Different Perspective May overlook the interplay between self and society. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [There'll always be working people in my poems because I grew up with them, and I am a poet of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/there-ll-always-be-working-people-in-my-poems-because-i-grew-up-with/) [Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/) > [You don't help people in your poems. I've been trying to help people all my life - that's my trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/you-don-t-help-people-in-your-poems-i-ve-been-trying-to-help-people/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [It's true that immigrant novels have to do with people going from one country to another, but there isn't a single novel that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-hijuelos/it-s-true-that-immigrant-novels-have-to-do-with-people-going-from-one/) [Oscar Hijuelos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-hijuelos/) > [I imagine as long as people will continue to read novels, people will continue to write them, or vice versa; unless of course the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-imagine-as-long-as-people-will-continue-to-read-novels-people-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Call me territorial or narcissistic, but I avoid novels about people who share my vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/call-me-territorial-or-narcissistic-but-i-avoid-novels-about-people/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I asked a French critic a couple of years ago why my books did so well in France. He said it was because in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-asked-a-french-critic-a-couple-of-years-ago-why-my-books-did-so/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [In one deep sense, novels are concealed autobiography. I don't mean that you are telling facts about yourself, but you are trying to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/in-one-deep-sense-novels-are-concealed-autobiography-i-don-t-mean/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [I love movies, but I would love to write as many graphic novels as people would read from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-beacham/i-love-movies-but-i-would-love-to-write-as-many-graphic-novels-as/) [Travis Beacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-beacham/) > [It's rather useless to write a gripping narrative with nothing in it but climate change because novels are always about people even if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-rather-useless-to-write-a-gripping-narrative-with-nothing-in-it/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Travel books are all sorts - some are autobiographies, some are about falling in love. Some are about having great meals, some are about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/travel-books-are-all-sorts-some-are-autobiographies-some-are-about/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“Plenty of people were writing novels; in fact, if one did a survey in the street, half of Edinburgh was writing a novel, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/plenty-of-people-were-writing-novels-in-fact-if-one-did-a-survey-in/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I wonder if we are all wrong about each other, if we are just composing unwritten novels about the people we meet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-wonder-if-we-are-all-wrong-about-each-other-if-we-are-just/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“You can’t write novels about people who are timid, risk-averse and passive. Or you can, but they’re called literary novels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/you-can-t-write-novels-about-people-who-are-timid-risk-averse-and/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [I would only read the novels that people classify as 'beach books' if I were being held prisoner and the only alternative was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-would-only-read-the-novels-that-people-classify-as-beach-books-if-i/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I think there's a false division people sometimes make in describing literary novels, where there are people who write systems novels, or novels of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/i-think-there-s-a-false-division-people-sometimes-make-in-describing/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) ## 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 About yourself quotes > [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/) [Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/) > [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/the-only-thing-a-master-can-teach-is-how-to-learn-about-yourself/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/i-don-t-want-to-sell-myself-short-you-hurt-your-spouse-not-so-much-by/) [Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/) > [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. 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Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Larkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems-are-about-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About yourself" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems-are-about-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/philip-larkin-1822_about-yourself_novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems_782388.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself” — Philip Larkin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Philip Larkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Novels are about other people and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems-are-about-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/novels-are-about-other-people-and-poems-are-about-yourself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```