“I read poetry to save time.”
- June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962
- American
- Actress, Singer, Model, Pop Culture Icon
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Quote
“I read poetry to save time.”
Explanation
In this succinct and beautifully paradoxical quote, Marilyn Monroe captures the intensely concentrated power of poetry. The idea of reading poetry “to save time” might seem contradictory at first—poetry often demands slow, reflective reading—but Monroe’s point is profound: poetry distills emotion, insight, and experience into its most essential form, delivering depth in just a few lines. For someone seeking meaning, connection, or beauty, poetry offers a shortcut to the heart of things.
This quote also reveals Monroe’s intellectual curiosity and emotional sensitivity, often overlooked in public narratives about her. Far from being simply a glamour icon, she turned to poetry—an art form of precision and feeling—to connect with truths that everyday language and routine could not provide. In reading poetry, she found a way to access wisdom and emotion quickly, bypassing the noise of life for something more lasting and sincere.
Today, the quote resonates as a celebration of literature’s ability to nourish the soul efficiently and powerfully. In an age overwhelmed by information and distraction, Monroe’s approach is timeless: poetry, though brief, offers a lifetime of understanding in a single stanza, reminding us that sometimes the shortest path to meaning is found not in speed, but in concentrated beauty.
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