An Inspirational Quote from John Keats for writers

“I should write from the mere yearning and fondness I have for the Beautiful even if my night’s labours should be burnt every morning and no eye ever shine upon them.”  John Keats

I lifted this quote from an article titled Cloudy Trophies by Adam Kirsch published in this week’s New Yorker magazine.

In the article, Kirsch reviews a new study of Keats’s life and work by Stanley Plumly – Posthumous Keats.  What I love about The New Yorker reviews is how much information the writers pack in. Keats died thinking his poetry had failed. The critics were harsh and Keats said, “I have no immortal work behind me…”

This reminded me of the sad story that F Scott Fitzgerald died believing The Great Gatsby was a failure.

Keats is right about why we should write. It is also true that it does cause a writer personal pain to have their work rejected, whether it is never published or after it is. The adage not to take rejections personal is a difficult one to follow. It is after all, the very essence of our innermost, and most often hidden, being that we are revealing through our work. And while we are not the work, the work is part of us. That work could not have come from any other human being — it is an expression of our history, temperament, beliefs and spirituality.

Poe took rejections personally but he could also be a harsh critic.

So why did Keats publish a book of poetry after his first two were viewed so negatively?

He knew they were wrong. We writers know in our hearts when the critics are right on and when they are simply wrong. We might not admit it to anyone else, but we know. It doesn’t remove the sting, but it keeps us going, attempting to fulfill that yearning and longing we have to produce something beautiful with words.