--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A poem isn't selfish. It speaks to people." description: "\"“A poem isn't selfish. It speaks to people.”\" — Wallace Stegner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/wallace-stegner-1352_poem_a-poem-isn-t-selfish-it-speaks-to-people_1732350.png" --- # A poem isn't selfish. It speaks to people. ![“A poem isn't selfish. It speaks to people.” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/wallace-stegner-1352_poem_a-poem-isn-t-selfish-it-speaks-to-people_1732350.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/wallace-stegner-1352_poem_a-poem-isn-t-selfish-it-speaks-to-people_1732350.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/wallace-stegner-1352_poem_a-poem-isn-t-selfish-it-speaks-to-people_1732350.png) > ““A poem isn't selfish. It speaks to people.”” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry serves others, not the poet’s ego, by connecting people. **In simple terms:** Poems speak to others. Key Takeaway Write for connection. Themes art empathy communication Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - public readings - education - therapy Key Concepts literature humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does your work serve others? - What audience do you aim for? A Different Perspective May ignore poet’s personal expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [“A poem isn't finished until it's heard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-foster/a-poem-isn-t-finished-until-it-s-heard/) Jade Foster > [“It isn’t selfish to sacrifice others to yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaron-brook/it-isn-t-selfish-to-sacrifice-others-to-yourself/) [Yaron Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaron-brook/) > [Sometimes I forget putting myself First... Isn't Selfish but Necessary...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kushandwizdom/sometimes-i-forget-putting-myself-first-isn-t-selfish-but-necessary/) [Kushandwizdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kushandwizdom/) > [Music speaks to people in a way that breaks down boundaries that words and actions sometimes can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-reynolds/music-speaks-to-people-in-a-way-that-breaks-down-boundaries-that/) [Dan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-reynolds/) > [“Music is a language that speaks to people emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-unknown/music-is-a-language-that-speaks-to-people-emotions/) The Unknown > [“Sometimes when a woman speaks out, some people think it’s shouting”—a”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-helen-petersen/sometimes-when-a-woman-speaks-out-some-people-think-it-s-shouting-a/) [Anne Helen Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-helen-petersen/) > [Gerrard is quiet; if he speaks people listen. 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David Gray > [You say to yourself, Well, this poem isn't going to be any good, but I'll write it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/you-say-to-yourself-well-this-poem-isn-t-going-to-be-any-good-but-i/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/towns-are-like-people-old-ones-often-have-character-the-new-ones-are/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The creative writer is compulsively concrete . . . . 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