--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing about the poetry is that…" description: "\"The thing about the poetry is that, because of the way it started, it was always something on the side. There's nobody more surprised than me that I ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/tim-key-5773_money_the-thing-about-the-poetry-is-that-becau_2758588.png" --- # The thing about the poetry is that, because of the way it… ![“The thing about the poetry is that, because of the way it started, it was always something on the side. There's nobody more surprised than me that I make money out of it.” quote by Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/tim-key-5773_money_the-thing-about-the-poetry-is-that-becau_2758588.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/tim-key-5773_money_the-thing-about-the-poetry-is-that-becau_2758588.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/tim-key-5773_money_the-thing-about-the-poetry-is-that-becau_2758588.png) > “The thing about the poetry is that, because of the way it started, it was always something on the side. There's nobody more surprised than me that I make money out of it.” [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry’s humble origins contrast with unexpected commercial success. **In simple terms:** Poetry started as a side thing. Key Takeaway Embrace humble beginnings. Themes creativity humility success Mood humorous self‑aware Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - writing - stand‑up comedy - publishing Key Concepts artistic expression career development Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay true to your art? - What role does humor play in your work? A Different Perspective Success may shift original intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Make Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-way-267357/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Started Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-surprised-3152218/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) [Thing Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-poetry-297364/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“It's the strangest thing about poetry: you can tell it's poetry, even if you don't speak the language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-s-the-strangest-thing-about-poetry-you-can-tell-it-s-poetry-even/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [It's a good thing to get poetry off the shelves and more into public life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/it-s-a-good-thing-to-get-poetry-off-the-shelves-and-more-into-public/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Not philosophy, after all, not humanity, just sheer joyous power of song, is the primal thing in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/not-philosophy-after-all-not-humanity-just-sheer-joyous-power-of-song/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [“The crazy thing about poetry is how its simplicity makes it complicated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/the-crazy-thing-about-poetry-is-how-its-simplicity-makes-it/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [“Stop. Watch. Listen. There’s poetry all over. And the thing about poetry? It don’t write itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-house-publishers/stop-watch-listen-there-s-poetry-all-over-and-the-thing-about-poetry/) [Bethany House Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-house-publishers/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [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/) > [“Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-the-way-we-help-give-name-to-the-nameless-so-it-can-be/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I believe in poetry as a way of surviving the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions, and traumatic events that come with being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-believe-in-poetry-as-a-way-of-surviving-the-emotional-chaos/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [I think no matter how snarky you try to be, poetry will always find a way to make a spiritual goal out of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-young/i-think-no-matter-how-snarky-you-try-to-be-poetry-will-always-find-a/) [Mike Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-young/) > [Poetry is a way of looking at the world for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poetry-is-a-way-of-looking-at-the-world-for-the-first-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For women ... poetry is not a luxury. 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A sanctuary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/the-bath-for-me-was-always-a-place-to-relax-to-retreat-from-the-hell/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Doing a new show is just so much pressure. 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I have no interest in quality or finesse, only in quantity and waste. Scribble and discard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/when-i-write-poetry-i-write-in-torrents-i-have-no-interest-in-quality/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Tim Vine's off the scale. Exhaustingly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/tim-vine-s-off-the-scale-exhaustingly-funny/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [My ideal Friday night is spent playing scrabble in my local in Kentish Town with a goon called Lenny. After I've won a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/my-ideal-friday-night-is-spent-playing-scrabble-in-my-local-in/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I try to write jokes but when I've written about four I run out. Writing my show is a very lonely place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-try-to-write-jokes-but-when-i-ve-written-about-four-i-run-out/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I used to be really good at squash until I did my shoulder in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-used-to-be-really-good-at-squash-until-i-did-my-shoulder-in/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I delivered dartboards to pubs. That wasn't when I knew I wanted to be a poet, but it was when I knew I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-delivered-dartboards-to-pubs-that-wasn-t-when-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I don't have an inflated opinion of how much artistic merit the poems I do have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-don-t-have-an-inflated-opinion-of-how-much-artistic-merit-the-poems/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) [Explore all 100 Tim Key quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) ## More Money quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. 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A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/) [Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy/) > [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. 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