--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lyrical poets have to be in touch with…" description: "\"Lyrical poets have to be in touch with visceral experience. I've always tried to avoid virtual experiences. That's emerging in my fiction.\" — Steven He..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/steven-heighton-30959_always_lyrical-poets-have-to-be-in-touch-with-v_1483576.jpg" --- # Lyrical poets have to be in touch with visceral… ![“Lyrical poets have to be in touch with visceral experience. I've always tried to avoid virtual experiences. That's emerging in my fiction.” quote by Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/steven-heighton-30959_always_lyrical-poets-have-to-be-in-touch-with-v_1483576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/steven-heighton-30959_always_lyrical-poets-have-to-be-in-touch-with-v_1483576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/steven-heighton-30959_always_lyrical-poets-have-to-be-in-touch-with-v_1483576.jpg) > “Lyrical poets have to be in touch with visceral experience. I've always tried to avoid virtual experiences. That's emerging in my fiction.” [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets must feel deep, bodily emotions and avoid purely virtual experiences, which now appear in his fiction. **In simple terms:** Feel real emotions, not just digital ones. Key Takeaway Seek visceral authenticity. Themes creativity authenticity experience literature technology Mood contemplative artistic Type interview reflection When to use this quote - writing workshops - fiction drafts - artistic retreats Key Concepts embodiment sensory detail digital vs physical Questions to Reflect On - How does virtual life affect artistic expression? - Can digital experiences be made visceral? A Different Perspective Digital immersion can still inspire genuine feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Avoid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoid/) [Emerging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emerging/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences/) [Experiences Emerging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences-emerging-4611875/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Lyrical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrical/) [Lyrical Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrical-poets-3022708/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch/) [Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried/) [Virtual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtual/) [Virtual Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtual-experiences-5412324/) [Visceral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral/) [Visceral Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral-experience-1000969/) ## Related quotes > [It's wonderful when music is intellectually stimulating. But ultimately it has to be a visceral experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-beiser/it-s-wonderful-when-music-is-intellectually-stimulating-but/) [Maya Beiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-beiser/) > [Playing live is such a total visceral experience, and really, as a musician, you're trained from the beginning to be a live performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geddy-lee/playing-live-is-such-a-total-visceral-experience-and-really-as-a/) [Geddy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geddy-lee/) > [Usually, when you go to a movie, your consciousness floats above the film. 3D sucks you in and makes it a visceral experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/usually-when-you-go-to-a-movie-your-consciousness-floats-above-the/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [The visceral experience of seeing a movie in three dimensions, coming at you in the theater, is obviously here to stay, because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-elwes/the-visceral-experience-of-seeing-a-movie-in-three-dimensions-coming/) [Cary Elwes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-elwes/) > [What stirs lyrical poets to their finest flights is neither the delight of the senses nor the fruitful contentment of the settled couple; not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-de-rougemont/what-stirs-lyrical-poets-to-their-finest-flights-is-neither-the/) [Denis de Rougemont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-de-rougemont/) > [“Develop new stories from new positive experiences and relationships — the experiences of your emerging new self!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/develop-new-stories-from-new-positive-experiences-and-relationships/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“just a bunch of words. 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I do my own laundry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-lerner/i-farm-there-is-something-visceral-about-being-attached-to-the-land-i/) [Sandra Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-lerner/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interesting that we don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/we-have-a-visceral-reaction-to-the-idea-that-anyone-would-make-very/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) > [Theater criticism should be visceral, at least on some level, an articulation of that fierceness and passion. I usually do a fair amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-brantley/theater-criticism-should-be-visceral-at-least-on-some-level-an/) [Ben Brantley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-brantley/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Love isn't intellectual - it's visceral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-mcgillis/love-isn-t-intellectual-it-s-visceral/) [Kelly McGillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-mcgillis/) ## More by Steven Heighton > [Interest is never enough. If it doesn't haunt you, you'll never write it well. What haunts and obsesses you may, with luck and labour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/interest-is-never-enough-if-it-doesn-t-haunt-you-you-ll-never-write/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [I'm supportive of practical nationalism, like the kind we need in Canada to avoid being absorbed into a much larger country. The kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-m-supportive-of-practical-nationalism-like-the-kind-we-need-in/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [Interest is never enough. If it doesn't haunt you, you'll never write it well. 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I thought, 'If it's a really propulsive story, then maybe there's something unliterary about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-literature-i-thought-if-it-s-a/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [“Love . . . requires that you learn to read the lover in her own language, not translate her into yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/love-requires-that-you-learn-to-read-the-lover-in-her-own-language/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [I've been a traveller, but I don't travel so much now. I'm trying to do it vicariously through my writing. I'm trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-ve-been-a-traveller-but-i-don-t-travel-so-much-now-i-m-trying-to-do/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [It's no sin to tell a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/it-s-no-sin-to-tell-a-good-story/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [“Let failure be your workshop. See it for what is is: the world walking you through a tough but necessary semester, free of tuition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/let-failure-be-your-workshop-see-it-for-what-is-is-the-world-walking/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [I had a book of essays out in 1997 in which I talked about the increasing virtuality of our lives. I've always been afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-had-a-book-of-essays-out-in-1997-in-which-i-talked-about-the/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [“Boredom is the laboratory where new enthusiasms prepare themselves,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/boredom-is-the-laboratory-where-new-enthusiasms-prepare-themselves/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [“The dreamtime of creative work is a turnstile to eternity. (from Workbok)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/the-dreamtime-of-creative-work-is-a-turnstile-to-eternity-from-workbok/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) [Explore all 17 Steven Heighton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Lyrical poets have to be in touch with visceral experience. 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