--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's possible, in a poem or a short…" description: "\"“It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/raymond-carver-2821_1983_it-s-possible-in-a-poem-or-a-short-story_2262161.png" --- # It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about… ![“It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things-- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring-- with immense, even startling power. It is possible to write a line of…” quote by Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/raymond-carver-2821_1983_it-s-possible-in-a-poem-or-a-short-story_2262161.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/raymond-carver-2821_1983_it-s-possible-in-a-poem-or-a-short-story_2262161.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/raymond-carver-2821_1983_it-s-possible-in-a-poem-or-a-short-story_2262161.png) > ““It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things-- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring-- with immense, even startling power. It is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine-- the source of artistic delight, as Nabokov would have it. That's the kind of writing that most interests me.”” [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that ordinary objects and simple language can be transformed into powerful, evocative elements in literature, creating deep emotional impact. **In simple terms:** Every things can become powerful in writing. Key Takeaway Use precise, ordinary details to create strong effects. Themes writing detail emotion literature craft Mood introspective inspired Type educational reflective When to use this quote - fiction writing - poetry - creative workshops - editing sessions - teaching writing Key Concepts symbolism precision evocative language Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance detail with story flow? - What ordinary object could you describe to reveal character? A Different Perspective May risk over‑emphasis on minutiae, losing narrative momentum. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1983](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1983-463/) [Commonplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Delight Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight-nabokov-3125209/) [Innocuous Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocuous-dialogue-5210028/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nabokov/) [Nabokov Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nabokov-kind-5210027/) [On-writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/on-writing/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Write Commonplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-commonplace-798646/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In the reading and writing life, delight, for me, is where the mystery lies. Easy enough to figure out how scenes of violence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/in-the-reading-and-writing-life-delight-for-me-is-where-the-mystery/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [It's possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/it-s-possible-in-a-poem-or-short-story-to-write-about-commonplace/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“To my generation has now come the challenge. In the days to come we will be tested on whether we have the moral courage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/to-my-generation-has-now-come-the-challenge-in-the-days-to-come-we/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“When ... asked what I am writing, I have answered, "A book about social class in America," ... It is if I had said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/when-asked-what-i-am-writing-i-have-answered-a-book-about-social/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [“It was not unless one lifted one's gaze from all the allegedly normal events occurring before one's eyes and looked at the executioner's sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-schell/it-was-not-unless-one-lifted-one-s-gaze-from-all-the-allegedly-normal/) [Jonathan Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-schell/) > [“Lefever describes his financing plan with modesty: "'Our detailed budget is realistic, but does not take into account the inflation that may occur before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/lefever-describes-his-financing-plan-with-modesty-our-detailed-budget/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Popper and Nabokov are very different people in some ways - and I'm ready to devote large chunks of my life to both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/popper-and-nabokov-are-very-different-people-in-some-ways-and-i-m/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Vladimir Nabokov said the two great evils of the 20th century were Marx and Freud. He was absolutely correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/vladimir-nabokov-said-the-two-great-evils-of-the-20th-century-were/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Nabokov complained he was afflicted with total recall, an affliction of which he could be miraculously cured by the presence of a biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/nabokov-complained-he-was-afflicted-with-total-recall-an-affliction/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“I fear no hell, just as I expect no heaven. Nabokov summed up a nonbeliever’s view of the cosmos, and our place in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tayler/i-fear-no-hell-just-as-i-expect-no-heaven-nabokov-summed-up-a/) [Jeffrey Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tayler/) > [After so many attempts to mount a musical version of 'Lolita,' the project was well and truly dead by the summer of 1971. Chief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/after-so-many-attempts-to-mount-a-musical-version-of-lolita-the/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [I think every writer has a book that haunts them, and on some level, every book you write is a reaction to it. 'Lolita'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-think-every-writer-has-a-book-that-haunts-them-and-on-some-level/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Translated literature can be fascinating. There's something so intriguing about reading the text second hand - a piece of prose that has already been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/translated-literature-can-be-fascinating-there-s-something-so/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [“She did not believe Fate as painstaking as her husband; she was more inclined to take matters into her own hands. She had ample…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/she-did-not-believe-fate-as-painstaking-as-her-husband-she-was-more/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“It is indeed a tricky name. It is often misspelt, because the eye tends to regard the "a" of the first syllable as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-is-indeed-a-tricky-name-it-is-often-misspelt-because-the-eye-tends/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## More by Raymond Carver > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [My heart is broken,” she goes. “It’s turned to a piece of stone. I’m no good. That’s what’s as bad as anything, that I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/my-heart-is-broken-she-goes-it-s-turned-to-a-piece-of-stone-i-m-no/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“You sound like a nice man,” the woman said. “Do I? Well, that’s nice of you to say.” He knew he should hang up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/you-sound-like-a-nice-man-the-woman-said-do-i-well-that-s-nice-of-you/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Life and death matters, yes. And the question of how to behave in this world, how to go in the face of everything. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/life-and-death-matters-yes-and-the-question-of-how-to-behave-in-this/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [The places where water comes together with other water. Those places stand out in my mind like holy places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/the-places-where-water-comes-together-with-other-water-those-places/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [A man can go along obeying all the rules and then it don't matter a damn anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/a-man-can-go-along-obeying-all-the-rules-and-then-it-don-t-matter-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“You see, this happened a few months ago, but it's still going on right now, and it ought to make us feel ashamed when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/you-see-this-happened-a-few-months-ago-but-it-s-still-going-on-right/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Art doesn't have to do anything. It just has to be there for the fierce pleasure we take in doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/art-doesn-t-have-to-do-anything-it-just-has-to-be-there-for-the/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“But here is the thing. When he gets on me, I suddenly feel I am fat. I feel am terrifically fat, so fat that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/but-here-is-the-thing-when-he-gets-on-me-i-suddenly-feel-i-am-fat-i/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [There are significant moments in everyone's day that can make literature. That's what you ought to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/there-are-significant-moments-in-everyone-s-day-that-can-make/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [The fiction Im most interested in has lines of reference to the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/the-fiction-im-most-interested-in-has-lines-of-reference-to-the-real/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Don’t complain, don’t explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/don-t-complain-don-t-explain/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [It's strange. You never start out life with the intention of becoming a bankrupt or an alcoholic or a cheat and a thief. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/it-s-strange-you-never-start-out-life-with-the-intention-of-becoming/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I am a cigarette with a body attached to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-am-a-cigarette-with-a-body-attached-to-it/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) [Explore all 134 Raymond Carver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## More 1983 quotes > [“Lefever describes his financing plan with modesty: "'Our detailed budget is realistic, but does not take into account the inflation that may occur before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/lefever-describes-his-financing-plan-with-modesty-our-detailed-budget/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It was not unless one lifted one's gaze from all the allegedly normal events occurring before one's eyes and looked at the executioner's sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-schell/it-was-not-unless-one-lifted-one-s-gaze-from-all-the-allegedly-normal/) [Jonathan Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-schell/) > [“When ... asked what I am writing, I have answered, "A book about social class in America," ... It is if I had said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/when-asked-what-i-am-writing-i-have-answered-a-book-about-social/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [“To my generation has now come the challenge. In the days to come we will be tested on whether we have the moral courage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/to-my-generation-has-now-come-the-challenge-in-the-days-to-come-we/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) [Browse all 5 1983 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1983-463/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things-- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring-- with immense, even startling power. 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