QuoteProject
I love reading poetry, and yet, at this point, the thought of writing a poem, to me, is tantamount to figuring out a trigonometry question.
Jhumpa Lahiri
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses a deep appreciation for poetry while highlighting the daunting challenge of creating it.

Jhumpa Lahiri conveys a love for poetry but juxtaposes it with the intimidating complexity of writing it, comparing the task to solving a difficult trigonometry problem. This illustrates both the beauty of poetry and the emotional struggle of artistic creation, emphasizing that while consuming art may be simple, producing it is often an overwhelming endeavor.

Themes

PoetryWritingCreativityArtChallengeEmotion

In practice

Example use cases

Sharing this quote during a poetry workshop to highlight the challenges of writing.

More from Jhumpa Lahiri

If certain books are to be termed 'immigrant fiction,' what do we call the rest? Native fiction? Puritan fiction? This distinction doesn't agree with me.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I think each time you start a story or novel or whatever, you are absolutely at the bottom of the ladder all over again. It doesn't matter what you've done before.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I knew, to kill me, violent enough to break me apart. The waves were immense, battering rocky beaches without sand. The farther I went, the more desolate it became, more than any place I'd been, but for this very reason the landscape drew me, claimed me as nothing had in a long time.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
Jhumpa LahiriRead

Similar quotes

When she started to play, Steinway came down personally and rubbed his name off the piano.
Bob HopeRead
A modern building should derive its architectural significance solely from the vigour and consequence of its own organic proportions. It must be true to itself, logically transparent, and virginal of lies or trivialities.
Walter GropiusRead
The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
Paul KleeRead
I would like to be a one-man multinational fashion phenomenon.
Karl LagerfeldRead
Artists are meant to be madmen, to disturb and shock us.
Anne RiceRead
The journey homewards. Coming home. That's what it's all about. The journey to the coming of the Kingdom. That's probably the chief difference between the Christian and the secular artist--the purpose of the work, be it story or music or painting, is to further the coming of the kingdom, to make us aware of our status as children of God, and to turn our feet toward home.
Madeleine L'EngleRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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