--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a time for reciting poems and a…" description: "\"There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.\" — Roberto Bolano" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg" --- # There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists. ![“There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.” quote by Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg) > “There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.” [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. There are moments for artistic expression and moments demanding forceful action; each has its proper time. **In simple terms:** Poetry and violence belong to different times. Key Takeaway Choose the right approach for the situation. Themes art conflict timing Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - political protest - personal crises - creative work Key Concepts expression vs aggression contextual response Questions to Reflect On - When is force justified? - How do you know it's time for art? A Different Perspective Violence can cause lasting harm if misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fists/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poems Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-time-3653098/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Reciting Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reciting-poems-3653096/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Fists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-fists-3653097/) ## Related quotes > [“There's a time for reciting poems and a time for fists. As far as I was concerned, this was the latter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bolano-natasha-wimmer/there-s-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a-time-for-fists-as-far-as-i/) [Roberto Bolano ( ) Natasha Wimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bolano-natasha-wimmer/) > [Poems On Time The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. Time is a wealth of change, but the clock in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/poems-on-time-the-butterfly-counts-not-months-but-moments-and-has/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Writing wasn't just a form of expression. It was a form of pathology by embarking on spoken word over and over and over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gorman/writing-wasn-t-just-a-form-of-expression-it-was-a-form-of-pathology/) [Amanda Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-gorman/) > [When I started reciting my own poems in public, I worried that it would seem too theatrical, but now I find recitation very natural,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/when-i-started-reciting-my-own-poems-in-public-i-worried-that-it/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [One of the very first poems I wrote was Docker That fist would drop a hammer on a Catholic and one of the sturdiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/one-of-the-very-first-poems-i-wrote-was-docker-that-fist-would-drop-a/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I kept having dreams all night. I thought they were touching me with their fingers. But dreams don't have fingers, they have fists, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-kept-having-dreams-all-night-i-thought-they-were-touching-me-with/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [And when he did that, my hands curled into fists because I thought about touching his face like maybe I could catch joy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/and-when-he-did-that-my-hands-curled-into-fists-because-i-thought/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [About 25 years ago, I was in an apartment, and next door, they put on the radio, so I struck the wall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/about-25-years-ago-i-was-in-an-apartment-and-next-door-they-put-on/) [Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/) > [We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in." "Yes!" Leo pumped his fist. \*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-started-this-together-leo-seems-only-right-you-come-along-you-find/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Well this is just a fist. But when I start throwing it around I can leave one hell of a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/well-this-is-just-a-fist-but-when-i-start-throwing-it-around-i-can/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“Don Alejandro cut in with advice I have never forgotten. "It is only when a man knows reason is not on his side that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-p-romulo/don-alejandro-cut-in-with-advice-i-have-never-forgotten-it-is-only/) [Carlos P. Romulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-p-romulo/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-guderian/you-hit-somebody-with-your-fist-and-not-with-your-fingers-spread/) [Heinz Guderian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-guderian/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More by Roberto Bolano > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolano quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Fists quotes > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-guderian/you-hit-somebody-with-your-fist-and-not-with-your-fingers-spread/) [Heinz Guderian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-guderian/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Don Alejandro cut in with advice I have never forgotten. "It is only when a man knows reason is not on his side that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-p-romulo/don-alejandro-cut-in-with-advice-i-have-never-forgotten-it-is-only/) [Carlos P. Romulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-p-romulo/) > [Well this is just a fist. But when I start throwing it around I can leave one hell of a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/well-this-is-just-a-fist-but-when-i-start-throwing-it-around-i-can/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in." "Yes!" Leo pumped his fist. \*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-started-this-together-leo-seems-only-right-you-come-along-you-find/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [About 25 years ago, I was in an apartment, and next door, they put on the radio, so I struck the wall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/about-25-years-ago-i-was-in-an-apartment-and-next-door-they-put-on/) [Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/) > [And when he did that, my hands curled into fists because I thought about touching his face like maybe I could catch joy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/and-when-he-did-that-my-hands-curled-into-fists-because-i-thought/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. 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In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-man-had-his-way-the-plan-of-redemption-would-be-an-endless-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 599 Fists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolano" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a-time-for-fists/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a-time-for-fists/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/roberto-bola-o-725_fists_there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a_3119703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.” — Roberto Bolano", "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": "Roberto Bolano", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is a time for reciting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a-time-for-fists/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-is-a-time-for-reciting-poems-and-a-time-for-fists/#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 } } ] } ```