--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being a poet is like having an invisible…" description: "\"Being a poet is like having an invisible partner. It isn't easy. But you can't live without it either. Talent is only 10 per cent. The rest is obsessio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/selima-hill-35243_cents_being-a-poet-is-like-having-an-invisible_2730443.jpg" --- # Being a poet is like having an invisible partner. It isn't… ![“Being a poet is like having an invisible partner. It isn't easy. But you can't live without it either. Talent is only 10 per cent. The rest is obsession.” quote by Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/selima-hill-35243_cents_being-a-poet-is-like-having-an-invisible_2730443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/selima-hill-35243_cents_being-a-poet-is-like-having-an-invisible_2730443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/selima-hill-35243_cents_being-a-poet-is-like-having-an-invisible_2730443.jpg) > “Being a poet is like having an invisible partner. It isn't easy. But you can't live without it either. Talent is only 10 per cent. The rest is obsession.” [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry requires a partnership of talent and obsessive dedication; skill alone is insufficient. **In simple terms:** Poetry needs talent plus obsession. Key Takeaway Cultivate disciplined passion for your craft. Themes creativity discipline artistry obsession talent Mood inspirational thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - writing daily - workshops - artist residencies - self‑practice Key Concepts flow intrinsic motivation creative process Questions to Reflect On - What drives your creative obsession? - How do you balance talent and effort? A Different Perspective Obsession can lead to burnout without balance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Having Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-invisible-1079186/) [Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Partners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partners/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-like-1644649/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [One of the great things about having your own invisible god is you can make him/her/it as big and grand as your little heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/one-of-the-great-things-about-having-your-own-invisible-god-is-you/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [As a woman growing older I've gone through that process of suddenly realising I'm invisible in the world, having not been invisible when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-james/as-a-woman-growing-older-i-ve-gone-through-that-process-of-suddenly/) [Geraldine James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-james/) > [“He kisses like a poet. Like he's writing poems on my lips.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-rossi/he-kisses-like-a-poet-like-he-s-writing-poems-on-my-lips/) [Veronica Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-rossi/) > [the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a high wire of his own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/the-poet-like-an-acrobat-climbs-on-rime-to-a-high-wire-of-his-own/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [The poet is like the wise fool or like a version of the stand-up, because we're standing, we're doing stand-up. That's exactly what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/the-poet-is-like-the-wise-fool-or-like-a-version-of-the-stand-up/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-poet-like-the-lover-is-a-menace-on-the-assembly-line/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of his audience the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/constantly-risking-absurdity-and-death-whenever-he-performs-above-the-2/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [“YOU SAY "POET" LIKE THAT MEANS SOMETHING.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-king/you-say-poet-like-that-means-something/) [Amy King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-king/) > [I happen to believe that there are a lot of good poets around at present, but a poet like Alex Kuo, who possesses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-kizer/i-happen-to-believe-that-there-are-a-lot-of-good-poets-around-at/) [Carolyn Kizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-kizer/) > [“(1)BEING A POET is like opening a car door & exposing yourself. (2)BEING A GOOD POET is like opening the door & exposing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chocolate-waters/1-being-a-poet-is-like-opening-a-car-door-exposing-yourself-2-being-a/) [Chocolate Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chocolate-waters/) > [The poet, like the lover, is a person unable to reconcile what he knows with what he feels. His peculiarity is that he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/the-poet-like-the-lover-is-a-person-unable-to-reconcile-what-he-knows/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [I don't know if I call myself a poet or not. I would like to, but I'm not really qualified to make that decision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-know-if-i-call-myself-a-poet-or-not-i-would-like-to-but-i-m/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I'm a poet, and I like my lies the way my mother used to make them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/i-m-a-poet-and-i-like-my-lies-the-way-my-mother-used-to-make-them/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [The Black Mountain poet I like most is the early Creeley. Those early poems seem very lyrical and very traditional, with a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/the-black-mountain-poet-i-like-most-is-the-early-creeley-those-early/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [The true poet, is like a man who's happy anywhere, in endless measure, if he's allowed to look at leaves and grass, to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-grimm/the-true-poet-is-like-a-man-who-s-happy-anywhere-in-endless-measure/) [Jacob Grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-grimm/) ## More by Selima Hill > [What am I writing for anyway? Is it like dreaming? Is it a benevolent process? Something that moves the past forward? And what about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/what-am-i-writing-for-anyway-is-it-like-dreaming-is-it-a-benevolent/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [When I was first published it was like having people rushing in coming to find out where I was hiding. Scary!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/when-i-was-first-published-it-was-like-having-people-rushing-in/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [There's the space that you soar into, the space that you sometimes break through to, and hang in. A sort of gasp or gap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/there-s-the-space-that-you-soar-into-the-space-that-you-sometimes/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [I feel much safer faced with a blank sheet of paper than I do with a real person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/i-feel-much-safer-faced-with-a-blank-sheet-of-paper-than-i-do-with-a/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [I step naked into the shower of truth - whole-hearted, bloody-minded, utterly selfish, no longer even pretending to enjoy or understand anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/i-step-naked-into-the-shower-of-truth-whole-hearted-bloody-minded/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [An audience sabotages my freedom, devastates my innocence, corrupts my integrity, inhibits my great joy - and of course gives me further to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/an-audience-sabotages-my-freedom-devastates-my-innocence-corrupts-my/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [I'm not so sure that the value of art is all it is cracked up to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/i-m-not-so-sure-that-the-value-of-art-is-all-it-is-cracked-up-to-be/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [I like to think that I'm giving a voice to the silenced...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/i-like-to-think-that-i-m-giving-a-voice-to-the-silenced/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [All I do and say and think 'as a poet' is much truer and more intimate than anything I say face to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/all-i-do-and-say-and-think-as-a-poet-is-much-truer-and-more-intimate/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [Poetry is a big space and I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/poetry-is-a-big-space-and-i-love-it/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [If I knew how to say it directly, I would not need to write poetry. I would just talk to people and be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/if-i-knew-how-to-say-it-directly-i-would-not-need-to-write-poetry-i/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [The very things I used to be told off for - daydreaming, exaggerating, making mistakes, wild guessing, contradicting, spying, being obsessive, being reckless -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/the-very-things-i-used-to-be-told-off-for-daydreaming-exaggerating/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) [Explore all 13 Selima Hill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) ## More Cents quotes > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. 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I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Ninety nine per cent of the time, for anyone who wins or makes money, it makes them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-time-for-anyone-who-wins-or-makes-money/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) > [The Pink Panther wasn't shown to the press for reasons that soon became apparent when I saw it at a public performance. Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/) [Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) [Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-earned-every-cent-and-in-all-of-my-years-of-public-life-i-have/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [You could pay a fair market price for a barrel of oil and cut 50 cents a barrel or a dollar barrel off what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/you-could-pay-a-fair-market-price-for-a-barrel-of-oil-and-cut-50/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Shooting is 99 per cent luck and one per cent training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-bindra/shooting-is-99-per-cent-luck-and-one-per-cent-training/) [Abhinav Bindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-bindra/) > [In 1985, the top five percent of the households - the wealthiest five percent - had net worth of $8 trillion - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stockman/in-1985-the-top-five-percent-of-the-households-the-wealthiest-five/) [David Stockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stockman/) > [For chat-room tyros who expect to make their first million day-trading by age 27, paging through the Sunday newspaper with a pair of scissors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/for-chat-room-tyros-who-expect-to-make-their-first-million-day/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) [Browse all 772 Cents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being a poet is like having an invisible partner. 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