--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have learned to get pleasure from…" description: "\"I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain\" — Sharon Olds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg" --- # I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain ![“I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg) > “I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain” [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding joy in describing pain reveals a paradoxical comfort in confronting suffering. **In simple terms:** Pleasure can arise from talking about pain. Key Takeaway Embrace honest expression. Themes pain expression paradox Mood introspective somber Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - public speaking - grieving - healing Key Concepts psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How does articulating pain affect your emotions? - Can sharing suffering foster connection? A Different Perspective Painful topics may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [To study and at times practice what one has learned, is this not a pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-study-and-at-times-practice-what-one-has-learned-is-this-not-a/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [What is learned without pleasure is forgotten without remorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-is-learned-without-pleasure-is-forgotten-without-remorse/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“He had already learned to read, but now he learned the pleasure of stories which is like no other pleasure—the experience of slipping sideways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-carey/he-had-already-learned-to-read-but-now-he-learned-the-pleasure-of/) [M.R. Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-carey/) > [“You can get by in the foreign language, you can communicate, but the pleasure of speaking to those who understand every subtlety and nuance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-kelly/you-can-get-by-in-the-foreign-language-you-can-communicate-but-the/) [Erin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-kelly/) > [ We have had the pleasure of speaking with Hillary \[Clinton\] \[and for Hillary\] for many years now. It's always an incredibly warm experience -… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-have-had-the-pleasure-of-speaking-with-hillary-clinton-and-for/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [A man who takes pleasure in speaking continuously fools himself in thinking he is not unpleasant to those around him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-man-who-takes-pleasure-in-speaking-continuously-fools-himself-in/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [The extreme pleasure we take in speaking of ourselves should make us apprehensive that it gives hardly any to those who listen to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-extreme-pleasure-we-take-in-speaking-of-ourselves-should-make-us/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [I have learned to take things as they come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/i-have-learned-to-take-things-as-they-come/) [Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/) > [And this I have learned grown-ups do not know the language of shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-whiteley/and-this-i-have-learned-grown-ups-do-not-know-the-language-of-shadows/) [Opal Whiteley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-whiteley/) > [I think it was always there and it was maybe a matter of bringing it out. It was harder than I thought it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-lafleur/i-think-it-was-always-there-and-it-was-maybe-a-matter-of-bringing-it/) [Guy Lafleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-lafleur/) > [Through my work with PETA, I have learned a great deal about chimpanzee behavior and the plight of chimpanzees imprisoned in laboratories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/through-my-work-with-peta-i-have-learned-a-great-deal-about/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [I have learned a lot over the years. I have learned how best to use my attributes. That comes with a bit of knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-murray/i-have-learned-a-lot-over-the-years-i-have-learned-how-best-to-use-my/) [Glenn Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-murray/) > [I have learned from my mistakes and become older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/i-have-learned-from-my-mistakes-and-become-older/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [I have learned from all of my coaches, and I am sure I will learn a lot with Guardiola.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xabi-alonso/i-have-learned-from-all-of-my-coaches-and-i-am-sure-i-will-learn-a/) [Xabi Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xabi-alonso/) > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“How do they do it, the ones who make love without love? How do they come to the come to the come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/how-do-they-do-it-the-ones-who-make-love-without-love-how-do-they/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [She'd crack A joke sharp as a tin lid Hot from the teeth of the can-opener, And cackle her crack-corn laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/she-d-crack-a-joke-sharp-as-a-tin-lid-hot-from-the-teeth-of-the-can/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If I wrote in a sonnet form, I would be distorting. Or if I had some great new idea for line breaks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/if-i-wrote-in-a-sonnet-form-i-would-be-distorting-or-if-i-had-some/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/many-poets-write-books-they-ll-tell-you-well-i-ve-got-my-next-book/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“as if languagelessness was a step up, in evolution, from the chatter of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/as-if-languagelessness-was-a-step-up-in-evolution-from-the-chatter-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe we can use a metaphor for it, out of dance. I think for many years I was aware of the need, in dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-we-can-use-a-metaphor-for-it-out-of-dance-i-think-for-many/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Who wants to put together something that will bear some relationship to the vision or memory or experience or story or idea or dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/who-wants-to-put-together-something-that-will-bear-some-relationship/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“...the liquor like fire in his hand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/the-liquor-like-fire-in-his-hand/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm probably so out of it at my age that I don't know what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-probably-so-out-of-it-at-my-age-that-i-don-t-know-what-people/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“Some people think I should be over my ex by now — maybe I thought I might have been over him more by now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/some-people-think-i-should-be-over-my-ex-by-now-maybe-i-thought-i/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe in order to understand sex fully/one has to risk being destroyed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-in-order-to-understand-sex-fully-one-has-to-risk-being/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) [Explore all 78 Sharon Olds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## More I have learned quotes > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-have-learned-that-only-two-things-are-necessary-to-keep-one-s-wife/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I have learned from all of my coaches, and I am sure I will learn a lot with Guardiola.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xabi-alonso/i-have-learned-from-all-of-my-coaches-and-i-am-sure-i-will-learn-a/) [Xabi Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xabi-alonso/) > [I have learned that one should say "Peace!" to those who shout their hatred for one's being and presence or at one's passage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/i-have-learned-that-one-should-say-peace-to-those-who-shout-their/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I have learned over the years that you should never save for two meetings what you can accomplish in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-learned-over-the-years-that-you-should-never-save-for-two/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [I have learned that trying to guess what the boss or the client wants is the most debilitating of all influences in the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-burnett/i-have-learned-that-trying-to-guess-what-the-boss-or-the-client-wants/) [Leo Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-burnett/) > [I have learned from my mistakes and become older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/i-have-learned-from-my-mistakes-and-become-older/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [I have learned a lot over the years. I have learned how best to use my attributes. That comes with a bit of knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-murray/i-have-learned-a-lot-over-the-years-i-have-learned-how-best-to-use-my/) [Glenn Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-murray/) > [Through my work with PETA, I have learned a great deal about chimpanzee behavior and the plight of chimpanzees imprisoned in laboratories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/through-my-work-with-peta-i-have-learned-a-great-deal-about/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [The steadily inward look leads us all to death, nations as well as persons, and is equally infantile in them all. Perhaps the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/the-steadily-inward-look-leads-us-all-to-death-nations-as-well-as/) [Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-the-way-he-she/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) Browse all 761 I have learned quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon Olds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-speaking-of-pain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I have learned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-speaking-of-pain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/sharon-olds-8682_i-have-learned_i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-spea_1728146.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have learned to get pleasure from speaking of pain” — Sharon Olds", "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": "Sharon Olds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have learned to get pleasure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-speaking-of-pain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-have-learned-to-get-pleasure-from-speaking-of-pain/#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 } } ] } ```