--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I deliberately wrote a poem in my last…" description: "\"I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was suggesting that there are other passions as great as or more important than the passion of sex...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png" --- # I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was… ![“I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was suggesting that there are other passions as great as or more important than the passion of sex.” quote by Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png) > “I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was suggesting that there are other passions as great as or more important than the passion of sex.” [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet asserts that love and creativity can rival or surpass sexual desire, suggesting multiple sources of profound fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Other passions can be as powerful as sex. Key Takeaway Seek fulfillment beyond sexual passion. Themes love creativity sexuality fulfillment Mood reflective introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - Romantic relationships - artistic pursuits - career choices Key Concepts Artistic expression human desire existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What non‑sexual passions give your life meaning? - How can you balance sexual desire with other drives? A Different Perspective Sexual passion remains a dominant force for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is as important as passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/nothing-is-as-important-as-passion/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [“All goals are not created equal; the size of the goal matters but it isn’t as important as the passion behind the goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/all-goals-are-not-created-equal-the-size-of-the-goal-matters-but-it/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) > [Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/nothing-is-as-important-as-passion-no-matter-what-you-want-to-do-with-2/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The most important thing to me is my work, and reaching people through my work. It's so important to me. It's my passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelaide-kane/the-most-important-thing-to-me-is-my-work-and-reaching-people-through/) [Adelaide Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelaide-kane/) > [I would say 'competence' actually might be slightly more important than passion. I understand that it is important to feel strongly about things, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/i-would-say-competence-actually-might-be-slightly-more-important-than/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Journalism is my first love. But music comes in a close second. What's important for me is that whatever you do, whatever your passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/journalism-is-my-first-love-but-music-comes-in-a-close-second-what-s/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [The fact that I'm racing, yes, is important, it's my passion, but, it's not my life, racing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-zanardi/the-fact-that-i-m-racing-yes-is-important-it-s-my-passion-but-it-s/) [Alex Zanardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-zanardi/) > [I wouldn't give up my career for somebody. The most important thing to me is my work, and reaching people through my work. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelaide-kane/i-wouldn-t-give-up-my-career-for-somebody-the-most-important-thing-to/) [Adelaide Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelaide-kane/) > [“Sex, my darling, is often the least important part of a passion. You'll learn that when you get older. - Maria Luisa (Tushi) Strauss”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/sex-my-darling-is-often-the-least-important-part-of-a-passion-you-ll/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [Whatever you do, it's important you do it with passion. Whether you're a CEO, a fighter or a bus boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-buffer/whatever-you-do-it-s-important-you-do-it-with-passion-whether-you-re/) [Bruce Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-buffer/) > [For me, and for thousands with similar inclinations, the most important passion of life is the overpowering desire to escape periodically from the clutches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marshall/for-me-and-for-thousands-with-similar-inclinations-the-most-important/) [Bob Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marshall/) > [Whatever work you undertake to do in your lifetime, it is very important that first you have a passion for it - you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-sumner-miller/whatever-work-you-undertake-to-do-in-your-lifetime-it-is-very/) [Julius Sumner Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-sumner-miller/) > [I really think it's important to find a passion and explore it. You don't have to have everything figured out at 16.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-vellani/i-really-think-it-s-important-to-find-a-passion-and-explore-it-you/) [Iman Vellani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-vellani/) > [What's important is passion, investment, and people laughing out loud as they work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/what-s-important-is-passion-investment-and-people-laughing-out-loud/) [Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/) > [“I wrote my first poem about a bunny. ‘Bunny, bunny, hop hop hop. White and soft like a little mop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/i-wrote-my-first-poem-about-a-bunny-bunny-bunny-hop-hop-hop-white-and/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) ## More by Thom Gunn > [How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/how-sociable-the-garden-was-we-ate-and-talked-in-given-light-the/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [It was difficult being a teacher and out of the closet in the '50s. By the time I retired, the English department was proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/it-was-difficult-being-a-teacher-and-out-of-the-closet-in-the-50s-by/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [We tend to put poems into factions. And it restricts our reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/we-tend-to-put-poems-into-factions-and-it-restricts-our-reading/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [We control the content of our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/we-control-the-content-of-our-dreams/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [Deep feeling doesn't make for good poetry. A way with language would be a bit of help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/deep-feeling-doesn-t-make-for-good-poetry-a-way-with-language-would/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [My old teacher's definition of poetry is an attempt to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/my-old-teacher-s-definition-of-poetry-is-an-attempt-to-understand/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [I admired what my students were writing, but I think their improvement doesn't directly result from me but from being in a class, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-admired-what-my-students-were-writing-but-i-think-their-improvement/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [One joins the movement in a valueless world, Choosing it, till both hurler and the hurled, One moves as well, always toward, toward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/one-joins-the-movement-in-a-valueless-world-choosing-it-till-both/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [As humans we look at things and think about what we've looked at. We treasure it in a kind of private art gallery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/as-humans-we-look-at-things-and-think-about-what-we-ve-looked-at-we/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [I was at a benefit for some imprisoned students in the '60s at San Francisco State, and there were lots of poets reading for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-was-at-a-benefit-for-some-imprisoned-students-in-the-60s-at-san/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [“At worse, one is in motion; and at best, Reaching no absolute, in which to rest, One is always nearer by not keeping still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/at-worse-one-is-in-motion-and-at-best-reaching-no-absolute-in-which/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [There have been two popular subjects for poetry in the last few decades: the Vietnam War and AIDS, about both of which almost all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/there-have-been-two-popular-subjects-for-poetry-in-the-last-few/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [I was much influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-was-much-influenced-by-jean-paul-sartre/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [I don't think of sex as a self-destructive impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-don-t-think-of-sex-as-a-self-destructive-impulse/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [Ginsberg's Collected Poems contains a wonderful poem about making it with Neal Cassady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/ginsberg-s-collected-poems-contains-a-wonderful-poem-about-making-it/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) [Explore all 43 Thom Gunn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was suggesting that there are other passions as great as or more important than the passion of sex.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thom Gunn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-book-where-i-was-suggesting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-book-where-i-was-suggesting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/thom-gunn-15259_book_i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-b_1183610.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I deliberately wrote a poem in my last book where I was suggesting that there are other passions as great as…” — Thom Gunn", "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": "Thom Gunn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I deliberately wrote a poem in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-book-where-i-was-suggesting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/i-deliberately-wrote-a-poem-in-my-last-book-where-i-was-suggesting/#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 } } ] } ```