QuoteProject
I am apparently gentle, unstable, and full of pretenses. I will die a poet killed by the nonpoets, will renounce no dream, resign myself to no ugliness, accept nothing of the world but the one I made myself. I wrote, lived, loved like Don Quixote, and on the day of my death I will say: ‘Excuse me, it was all a dream,’ and by that time I may have found one who will say: ‘Not at all, it was true, absolutely true.’
Anais Nin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the struggle of a poet against societal norms and the unyielding nature of personal creativity.

Anais Nin's quote speaks to the intrinsic conflict between the idealistic vision of a poet and the harsh realities of the world. It conveys a sense of resilience and defiance, as the poet chooses to embrace their dreams and imagination despite external pressures and societal expectations. Nin invokes the spirit of Don Quixote, emphasizing the importance of pursuing one's artistic dreams wholeheartedly, even in the face of skepticism and dismissal from nonpoets. Ultimately, it is a celebration of the validity of one's inner world and experience against a backdrop of possible misunderstanding or rejection.

Themes

PoetDreamCreativityResilienceImaginationRealityIndividuality

In practice

Example use cases

This quote is perfect for a writing workshop to inspire aspiring poets to embrace their unique voices.

More from Anais Nin

The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
Anxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
Anais NinRead
We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
Anais NinRead
The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
Anais NinRead
We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
Anais NinRead
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Anais NinRead

Similar quotes

I was always writing for myself. I wrote what I needed to write and hear - that's what makes it powerful.
Rupi KaurRead
Writers are only rarely likable.
Joan DidionRead
I've yet to meet somebody who said, 'Your stories are so revolting I couldn't read them.'
Ian McewanRead
Conductors' careers are made for the most part with 'Romantic' music. 'Classic' music eliminates the conductor; we do not remember him in it.
Igor StravinskyRead
I must write. If I stop writing my life will have been an abject failure. It is that already to other people. But it could be an abject failure to myself. I will not have earned death.
Jean RhysRead
It's always about the music, never about anything else.
Eddie Van HalenRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.