--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost everything that's happened in my…" description: "\"Almost everything that's happened in my poetry is what you might call organic. I don't do much preconceiving. The only consistent plan I've ever had is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/ron-padgett-31212_break_almost-everything-that-s-happened-in-my_746419.jpg" --- # Almost everything that's happened in my poetry is what you… ![“Almost everything that's happened in my poetry is what you might call organic. I don't do much preconceiving. The only consistent plan I've ever had is to try to break my patterns, my habits, my kneejerk tendencies in writing. If I start to sound too much like the Ron Padgett that I've read…” quote by Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/ron-padgett-31212_break_almost-everything-that-s-happened-in-my_746419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/ron-padgett-31212_break_almost-everything-that-s-happened-in-my_746419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/ron-padgett-31212_break_almost-everything-that-s-happened-in-my_746419.jpg) > “Almost everything that's happened in my poetry is what you might call organic. I don't do much preconceiving. The only consistent plan I've ever had is to try to break my patterns, my habits, my kneejerk tendencies in writing. If I start to sound too much like the Ron Padgett that I've read before, I stop myself. I don't want to get locked perpetually in a mode or a level of diction or a stylistic vein - what is called a poetic voice.” [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet strives for spontaneity, breaking habitual patterns to avoid a fixed voice. **In simple terms:** Avoiding a fixed poetic voice through constant change. Key Takeaway Keep challenging your writing habits. Themes creativity self‑discipline authenticity Mood reflective determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - experimental poetry - creative retreats Key Concepts organic process habit disruption voice evolution Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance consistency with experimentation? - What habits limit your creative growth? A Different Perspective Risk of losing coherence if changes are too frequent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [So much of what I love about poetry lies in the vast possibilities of voice, the spectacular range of idiosyncratic flavors that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoagland/so-much-of-what-i-love-about-poetry-lies-in-the-vast-possibilities-of/) [Tony Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoagland/) > [I think of Gord Downie voice as Whitman-esque. He has a poetic voice that contains multitudes, both the suppleness of the instrument of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-think-of-gord-downie-voice-as-whitman-esque-he-has-a-poetic-voice/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/historical-sense-and-poetic-sense-should-not-in-the-end-be/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Any long work in which poetry is persistent, be it epic or drama or narrative, is really a succession of separate poetic experiences governed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/any-long-work-in-which-poetry-is-persistent-be-it-epic-or-drama-or/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [How poetic you are," she said. "I've a notion that poetry is the highest form of self-deception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/how-poetic-you-are-she-said-i-ve-a-notion-that-poetry-is-the-highest/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Futurism and Cubism are comparable in importance to the invention of perspective, for which they substituted a new concept of space. All subsequent movements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/futurism-and-cubism-are-comparable-in-importance-to-the-invention-of/) [Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/) > [Perhaps the chief cause which has retarded the progress of poetry in America, is the want of that exclusive cultivation, which so noble a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/perhaps-the-chief-cause-which-has-retarded-the-progress-of-poetry-in/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [It seems more than likely that the translating of poetry is going to rub off on the translator if he or she is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/it-seems-more-than-likely-that-the-translating-of-poetry-is-going-to/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral & written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation & would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/) Jerome Rothenberg > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“There was a strange exciting smell in the air - the smell of wine, cigar smoke, and perfume, mingled with the scent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-a-strange-exciting-smell-in-the-air-the-smell-of-wine-cigar/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Generous in spirit, richly poetic, and packed with memorable characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-millman/generous-in-spirit-richly-poetic-and-packed-with-memorable-characters/) [Lawrence Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-millman/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ron Padgett > [I've been working on a collection of prose vignettes about girls I've had crushes on, from the age of six to the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/i-ve-been-working-on-a-collection-of-prose-vignettes-about-girls-i-ve/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [I don't do much of anything consciously in writing - in poetry writing, anyway, prose usually being a different matter, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/i-don-t-do-much-of-anything-consciously-in-writing-in-poetry-writing/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room before you save the world. Then save the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/take-care-of-things-close-to-home-first-straighten-up-your-room/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Collaborating with someone who doesn't understand your language nor you theirs stretches you open even wider, into a sort of very large free fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/collaborating-with-someone-who-doesn-t-understand-your-language-nor/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Working with artists and other poets has made me aware that there was a bigger "me" that I hadn't been quite aware of. Plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/working-with-artists-and-other-poets-has-made-me-aware-that-there-was/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [It seems more than likely that the translating of poetry is going to rub off on the translator if he or she is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/it-seems-more-than-likely-that-the-translating-of-poetry-is-going-to/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [It's fun to have a crush on somebody, even one that lasts only fifteen seconds. In New York I can go down the street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/it-s-fun-to-have-a-crush-on-somebody-even-one-that-lasts-only-fifteen/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Not everyone is at the top of his or her game all the time - you can't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/not-everyone-is-at-the-top-of-his-or-her-game-all-the-time-you-can-t/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Maybe lurking in my unconscious was the idea that when someone's collected poems are published it means that the poet is dead. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/maybe-lurking-in-my-unconscious-was-the-idea-that-when-someone-s/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [It is not easy writing someone a postcard. The size and shape of the card cut you down to size...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/it-is-not-easy-writing-someone-a-postcard-the-size-and-shape-of-the/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [So writing about love or having it infuse the poems that I'm writing has never been something I've set myself to do, except when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/so-writing-about-love-or-having-it-infuse-the-poems-that-i-m-writing/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [“This for That What will I have for breakfast? I wish I had some plums like the ones in Williams’s poem. He apologized to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/this-for-that-what-will-i-have-for-breakfast-i-wish-i-had-some-plums/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Part of the pleasure of giving a reading comes from the rapport between the audience and the poet. I don't want to get mystical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/part-of-the-pleasure-of-giving-a-reading-comes-from-the-rapport/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [“When I wake up earlier than you and you are turned to face me, face on the pillow and hair spread around, I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/when-i-wake-up-earlier-than-you-and-you-are-turned-to-face-me-face-on/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) [Explore all 15 Ron Padgett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost everything that's happened in my poetry is what you might call organic. I don't do much preconceiving. The only consistent plan I've ever had is to try to break my patterns, my habits, my kneejerk tendencies in writing. If I start to sound too much like the Ron Padgett that I've read before, I stop myself. 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