--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"You're next, after the feather dancers.\"…" description: "\"\"You're next, after the feather dancers.\" And you had to get their attention, because otherwise people would go, \"Oh, a poet.\" You really have to learn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/sandra-cisneros-862_attention_you-re-next-after-the-feather-dancers-an_1842349.png" --- # "You're next, after the feather dancers." And you had to… ![“"You're next, after the feather dancers." And you had to get their attention, because otherwise people would go, "Oh, a poet." You really have to learn.” quote by Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/sandra-cisneros-862_attention_you-re-next-after-the-feather-dancers-an_1842349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/sandra-cisneros-862_attention_you-re-next-after-the-feather-dancers-an_1842349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/sandra-cisneros-862_attention_you-re-next-after-the-feather-dancers-an_1842349.png) > “"You're next, after the feather dancers." And you had to get their attention, because otherwise people would go, "Oh, a poet." You really have to learn.” [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker warns that without effort to be noticed, people dismiss you as just a poet; attention requires deliberate action. **In simple terms:** You must work to be seen, not just be a poet. Key Takeaway Earn attention through purposeful effort. Themes visibility recognition effort artistic identity Mood determined hopeful Type advice motivational When to use this quote - public reading - social media posting - networking events - gallery openings Key Concepts self-presentation audience perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you actively attract an audience? - What steps will you take to be seen? A Different Perspective If you focus only on talent, you may never be noticed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancer/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Wise people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-people/) ## Related quotes > [I had to learn quick, because I was performing in Cinco de Mayo festivals with babies crying and people lifting their beers, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-had-to-learn-quick-because-i-was-performing-in-cinco-de-mayo/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Oh what a poet I will flay myself into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/oh-what-a-poet-i-will-flay-myself-into/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“oh each poet’s a beautiful human girl who must die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-notley/oh-each-poet-s-a-beautiful-human-girl-who-must-die/) [Alice Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-notley/) > [People paused to listen to Denise Chávez and she had them - with gum on her shoes, she had them. She said she stepped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/people-paused-to-listen-to-denise-ch-vez-and-she-had-them-with-gum-on/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The only artists I have ever known who are personally delightful are bad artists. 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Everything in it conveys sentiment, emotions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-benigni/dante-alighieri-has-the-most-glorious-imagination-of-modern-poetry-so/) [Roberto Benigni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-benigni/) > [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/) > [“Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/good-artists-exist-simply-in-what-they-make-and-consequently-are-3/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I'm now making myself as scummy as I can. Why? 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You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/you-can-never-have-too-much-sky-you-can-fall-asleep-and-wake-up-drunk/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [ \[Jorge Luis Borges\] had short stories, and I was trying to learn how to write short stories, and then he had these things in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/jorge-luis-borges-had-short-stories-and-i-was-trying-to-learn-how-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I want to thank you, especially those people who are agnostic or atheist. I don't mean any offense by the things I said of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-want-to-thank-you-especially-those-people-who-are-agnostic-or/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [ We changed it to emocionó, the way you say in Spanish, "to emotion me" \[to be moved\]. That, as opposed to "haunt." We wanted… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-changed-it-to-emocion-the-way-you-say-in-spanish-to-emotion-me-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [When I'm starting to feel, "How many more people are there?" I go slower. I ask questions, and that person engaging with me gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/when-i-m-starting-to-feel-how-many-more-people-are-there-i-go-slower/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I've put up with too much, too long, and now I'm just too intelligent, too powerful, too beautiful, too sure of who I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-ve-put-up-with-too-much-too-long-and-now-i-m-just-too-intelligent/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [If we got an educational program going, we could tell people, "Instead of butter, use avocado." 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I hate them."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-always-have-to-have-sweet-and-salty-i-know-some-of-you-are-going-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) [Explore all 347 Sandra Cisneros quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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