--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know what started me, I just…" description: "\"I don't know what started me, I just wrote poetry from the time was quite small. I guess I liked nursery rhymes and I guess I thought I could do the sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/sylvia-plath-149_bits_i-don-t-know-what-started-me-i-just-wrot_442991.jpg" --- # I don't know what started me, I just wrote poetry from the… ![“I don't know what started me, I just wrote poetry from the time was quite small. I guess I liked nursery rhymes and I guess I thought I could do the same thing. I wrote my first poem, my first published poem, when I was eight-and-a-half years old. It came out in The Boston Traveller and from then…” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/sylvia-plath-149_bits_i-don-t-know-what-started-me-i-just-wrot_442991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/sylvia-plath-149_bits_i-don-t-know-what-started-me-i-just-wrot_442991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/sylvia-plath-149_bits_i-don-t-know-what-started-me-i-just-wrot_442991.jpg) > “I don't know what started me, I just wrote poetry from the time was quite small. I guess I liked nursery rhymes and I guess I thought I could do the same thing. I wrote my first poem, my first published poem, when I was eight-and-a-half years old. It came out in The Boston Traveller and from then on, I suppose, I've been a bit of a professional.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early exposure to publishing sparked a lifelong poetic vocation. **In simple terms:** Childhood publishing launched a poetry career. Key Takeaway Embrace early passions early. Themes creativity career early talent Mood reflective proud Type autobiographical inspirational When to use this quote - childhood writing - first publication - career development - public recognition Key Concepts literary development self‑identity Questions to Reflect On - How did early publication shape your self‑image? - Do you still feel the same drive? A Different Perspective Early success may create pressure to maintain a public persona. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Nursery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nursery/) [Nursery rhymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nursery-rhymes/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Traveller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveller/) ## Related quotes > [I published my first poem in 'The Paris Review' in 1980.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-published-my-first-poem-in-the-paris-review-in-1980/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Plagiarism has been around far longer than the Internet. 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Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-j-stone/) > [After I saw my first poem published, I became interested in the immortalization of words and the fact that you could put something out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-tamblyn/after-i-saw-my-first-poem-published-i-became-interested-in-the/) [Amber Tamblyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-tamblyn/) > [“For me,” she wrote, “poetry is an evasion from the real job of writing prose.” Throughout”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-me-she-wrote-poetry-is-an-evasion-from-the-real-job-of-writing/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [On the train: staring hypnotized at the blackness outside the window, feeling the incomparable rhythmic language of the wheels, clacking out nursery rhymes, summing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/on-the-train-staring-hypnotized-at-the-blackness-outside-the-window/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [One Christmas I had no money, and so I went home and just, like, wrote a poem; I mean, I didn't write them, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-diane-raphael/one-christmas-i-had-no-money-and-so-i-went-home-and-just-like-wrote-a/) [June Diane Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-diane-raphael/) > [The wonderful 17th Century poet, Robert Herrick, wrote a poem entitled, 'To Live Merrily and to Trust to Good Verses.' 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