--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People probably long for something…" description: "\"People probably long for something genuinely personal in a society where the personal is often indistinguishable from the \"personalized.\" Maybe the poe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/rae-armantrout-15496_audience_people-probably-long-for-something-genui_138845.png" --- # People probably long for something genuinely personal in a… ![“People probably long for something genuinely personal in a society where the personal is often indistinguishable from the "personalized." Maybe the poetry audience member is searching for his or her own "personal space" and they expect the poet to be a sort of avatar of the private life. But that…” quote by Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/rae-armantrout-15496_audience_people-probably-long-for-something-genui_138845.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/rae-armantrout-15496_audience_people-probably-long-for-something-genui_138845.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/rae-armantrout-15496_audience_people-probably-long-for-something-genui_138845.png) > “People probably long for something genuinely personal in a society where the personal is often indistinguishable from the "personalized." Maybe the poetry audience member is searching for his or her own "personal space" and they expect the poet to be a sort of avatar of the private life. But that sort of representation is distasteful to me. Asking a poet to represent the personal life is, paradoxically, to turn the poet into something other than a person.” [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In a homogenized culture, genuine personal expression is rare; demanding poets to embody private lives reduces them to avatars. **In simple terms:** True personal voice is scarce; forcing poets to be avatars is problematic. Key Takeaway Seek authentic personal expression, not forced representation. Themes authenticity privacy artistic integrity culture Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - poetry readings - creative workshops - media analysis Key Concepts literary criticism identity politics Questions to Reflect On - What does “personal” mean to you? - How can art stay authentic without commodification? A Different Perspective Audiences may still crave relatable content, creating tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-life/) [Personal space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-space/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Private life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-life/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) ## Related quotes > [I think the poet is the last person who is still speaking the truth when no one else dares to. I think the poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-di-prima/i-think-the-poet-is-the-last-person-who-is-still-speaking-the-truth/) [Diane di Prima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-di-prima/) > [There's two ways to become a famous Poet, find that one person that knows somebody, that knows somebody, that knows somebody. Or die trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/there-s-two-ways-to-become-a-famous-poet-find-that-one-person-that/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Memory exercised in a particular way is a natural gift of poetic genius. The poet above all else, is a person who never forgets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/memory-exercised-in-a-particular-way-is-a-natural-gift-of-poetic/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [God is the perfect poet, Who in his person acts his own creations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/god-is-the-perfect-poet-who-in-his-person-acts-his-own-creations/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/a-poet-is-before-anything-else-a-person-who-is-passionately-in-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Do you know what constitutes a great poet? He is a person without shame, incapable of blushing. Ordinary fools have moments when they go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/do-you-know-what-constitutes-a-great-poet-he-is-a-person-without/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [“A poet is a person who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightening five or six times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-poet-is-a-person-who-manages-in-a-lifetime-of-standing-out-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Theirs two ways to become a famous Poet, find that one person that knows somebody, that knows somebody, that knows somebody. Or die trying”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/theirs-two-ways-to-become-a-famous-poet-find-that-one-person-that/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Everyone is born a poet - a person discovering the way words sound and work, caring and delighting in words. I just kept on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/everyone-is-born-a-poet-a-person-discovering-the-way-words-sound-and/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [I am not a nature poet. There is almost always a person in my poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-am-not-a-nature-poet-there-is-almost-always-a-person-in-my-poems/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, we really want to be close to somebody. So this thing, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/at-the-end-of-the-day-when-it-comes-down-to-it-we-really-want-to-be/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [A dressing room is both a personal space and a workspace. It changes with the flick of a switch: turn on the relay -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathew-horne/a-dressing-room-is-both-a-personal-space-and-a-workspace-it-changes/) [Mathew Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathew-horne/) > [In order to be artists we need to be in our studios, in our private rooms... in our private personal space... that sacred protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-leipzig/in-order-to-be-artists-we-need-to-be-in-our-studios-in-our-private/) [Adam Leipzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-leipzig/) > [“If you neglect your personal space and allow chaos and clutter to creep in, it will affect you, and perhaps encourage further neglect. Positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcraney/if-you-neglect-your-personal-space-and-allow-chaos-and-clutter-to/) [David McRaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcraney/) > [Creating a personal space with individual items that you love is so much easier on the wallet and really expresses your creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sussanne-khan/creating-a-personal-space-with-individual-items-that-you-love-is-so/) [Sussanne Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sussanne-khan/) ## More by Rae Armantrout > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“this route is only one of several imaginary paths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/this-route-is-only-one-of-several-imaginary-paths/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“To reinvent anomalous figments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/to-reinvent-anomalous-figments/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [I know you by your willingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-know-you-by-your-willingness/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The jacaranda, for instance, is beautiful but not serious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/the-jacaranda-for-instance-is-beautiful-but-not-serious/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Like most of my poems, 'Lie' has several sources: I read a very troubling book called The Sixth Extinction. I took note of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-most-of-my-poems-lie-has-several-sources-i-read-a-very-troubling/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Poets tend to form loose groups - the "Romantics" or the "Imagists". And sometimes they write manifestoes in the name of these groups. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/poets-tend-to-form-loose-groups-the-romantics-or-the-imagists-and/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“Evening succeeds evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/evening-succeeds-evening/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. Each has left something undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/the-ghosts-swarm-they-speak-as-one-person-each-has-left-something/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Metaphor is ritual sacrifice. It kills the look-alike. No, metaphor is homeopathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/metaphor-is-ritual-sacrifice-it-kills-the-look-alike-no-metaphor-is/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Carried by light, images remain while sensation is so evanescent as to be always beyond belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/carried-by-light-images-remain-while-sensation-is-so-evanescent-as-to/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The feeling of emptiness is a pre-existing condition. Jargon forces intimacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/the-feeling-of-emptiness-is-a-pre-existing-condition-jargon-forces/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Like all my poems, 'Negotiations' has several sources. It deals with aging lovers and the often silent deals they make. Thinking about bargains made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-all-my-poems-negotiations-has-several-sources-it-deals-with/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [clarity need not be equivalent to / readability. How readable is the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/clarity-need-not-be-equivalent-to-readability-how-readable-is-the/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [I tend to like the way poets form communities. Writing can be lonely after all. Modern life can be lonely. Poets do seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-tend-to-like-the-way-poets-form-communities-writing-can-be-lonely/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) [Explore all 43 Rae Armantrout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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