75 Sarah Kay Quotes on Spoken Word Poetry

Sarah Kay is an American poet and is the the creator and co-director of Project V.O.I.C.E.

She has published four poetry books including “B” and “No Matter the Wreckage.”

Project VOICE an organization that uses poetry to inspire students and educators worldwide.

She also produced the web series “There’s a Poem for That” which combines poetry and animation.

Kay began performing poetry at 14 and has since performed at various events including the United Nations and the TED conference.

Sarah Kay Quotes

Let’s have a look at some of the top quotes by Sarah Kay.


Best Sarah Kay Quotes

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No, I don’t think poems will save us. And yet, and yet. ~ Sarah Kay.

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There is a girl who still writes you; she doesn’t know how not to. ~ Sarah Kay.

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Spoken-word poetry cracks open locks. ~ Sarah Kay.

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I write poems to figure things out. ~ Sarah Kay.

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I have seen the best of you, and the worst of you, and I choose both. ~ Sarah Kay.

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One of my highest priorities as an educator is to be as inclusive as possible. ~ Sarah Kay.

This world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it. ~ Sarah Kay.

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It is equally important to listen as it is to speak. ~ Sarah Kay.

If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she’s gonna call me Point B, because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. ~ Sarah Kay.

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It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready. ~ Sarah Kay.

The first spoken word poem I ever wrote was when I was 14 and I wrote it because I was accidentally signed up for a teen poetry slam. Because I loved poetry I said that I’d try it out. ~ Sarah Kay.

Artistry is important. Skill, hard work, rewriting, editing, and careful, careful craft: All of these are necessary. These are what separate the beginners from experienced artists. ~ Sarah Kay.

Every person alive has certain privileges and lacks others; one of the things I’ve been trying to do is to stop attaching shame to it. ~ Sarah Kay.

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There are parts of me I only recognize from photographs. ~ Sarah Kay.

We build model ships in bottles, whispering life into the toothpicks and wire; we make plans and blueprints for the one we hope is coming. And come they do. Fleets of vessels. Battleships and barges. They arrive on the horizon, flags to the sky. ~ Sarah Kay.

Famous Sarah Kay Quotes

I fell in love with poetry through storytelling, so my poetry tends to be fairly narrative. I like characters, I like having a beginning, middle, and ending, though not necessarily in that order. ~ Sarah Kay.

It’s not just the adage ‘write what you know,’ it’s about gathering up all of the knowledge and experience you’ve collected up to now to help you dive into the things you don’t know. ~ Sarah Kay.

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It is hard to stop loving the ocean. Even after it has left you gasping, salty. ~ Sarah Kay.

Poetry is like a puzzle-solving strategy for me. I like to poem my way through tricky questions and ideas. That’s about the only consistent thread through my poem-creation process. ~ Sarah Kay.

Most days it feels as if the world is whirling around me and I am standing still. In slow motion, I watch the colors blur; people and faces all become a massive wash. ~ Sarah Kay.

No matter your wreckage. There will be someone to find you beautiful, despite the cruddy metal. Your ruin is not to be hidden behind paint and canvas. Let them see the cracks. Someone will come to sing into these empty spaces. ~ Sarah Kay.

I didn’t tell him that even after a crash, a key still fits the ignition. There just isn’t anything left to drive. ~ Sarah Kay.

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I will love you with too many commas, but never any asterisks. ~ Sarah Kay.

My self-confidence can be measured out in teaspoons mixed into my poetry, and it still always tastes funny in my mouth. ~ Sarah Kay.

I often tell people to stop being afraid of writing bad poetry, or bad anything. I think that a lot of times, when people claim that they have writer’s block, or that they get stuck, it’s just because they’re scared of writing bad things. ~ Sarah Kay.

I write poetry to figure things out. Any time I’m trying to wrap my head around something, poetry is like a puzzle-solving strategy for me. ~ Sarah Kay.

Top Sarah Kay Quotes

Still now I send letters into space Hoping that some mailman somewhere will track you down And recognize you from the descriptions in my poems That he will place the stack of them in your hands and tell you, There is a girl who still writes you, she doesn’t know how not to. ~ Sarah Kay.

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You can be an artist, work hard for your work and also share while trying to create community with other artists. ~ Sarah Kay.

Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Repeat the same mistakes over and over, and you don’t get any closer to Carnegie Hall. ~ Sarah Kay.

We were dandelion seeds released to the wind, she asked for no return. We are saplings now. With gentle hands. ~ Sarah Kay.

I love hands like I love people. They are the maps and compasses with which we navigate our way through life, feeling our way over mountains passed and valleys crossed; they are our histories. ~ Sarah Kay.

Part of what I try to do in schools is take poetry off of a pedestal and make it a little more accessible and approachable. ~ Sarah Kay.

Forgive yourself for the decisions you have made, the ones you still call mistakes when you tuck them in at night. ~ Sarah Kay.

Popular Sarah Kay Quotes

There is hurt that cannot be fixed by band aids or poetry because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried. ~ Sarah Kay.

Nothing is as universal as some good scatalogical humor. Even if it means having to be a little silly or cheeky, I think it is worth it. ~ Sarah Kay.

Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. ~ Sarah Kay.

Our model ships look perfect in their bottles, but we do not know if they are seaworthy. Sometimes the one that reaches your harbor has already been through the storm. ~ Sarah Kay.

I am watching parts of me evaporate like sidewalk water. This wet grey, this nighttime dew, gone before morning. ~ Sarah Kay.

Some people read palms to tell your future, but I read hands to tell your past. Each scar makes a story worth telling. Each callused palm, each cracked knuckle is a missed punch or years in a factory. ~ Sarah Kay.

Poetry makes people nervous. Especially in schools. ~ Sarah Kay.

Wise Sarah Kay Quotes

We both know how to hide our sharpest parts, I just don’t always recognize my own weaponry. ~ Sarah Kay.

It does not matter how long we have been kept in cages. It does not matter how strong your gravity is. We were always meant to fly. ~ Sarah Kay.

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Hands learn more than minds do, hands learn how to hold other hands… ~ Sarah Kay.

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining. ~ Sarah Kay.

There are so many things I would tell you if I thought that you would listen and so many more you would tell me if you believed I would understand. ~ Sarah Kay.

What is it about immortality? With the right sword and shield, we think we can fend off anger, fear, and hatred. If our legs are strong enough, we think we can outrun age, loss, and death. ~ Sarah Kay.

When I meet you, in that moment, I am no longer a part of your future. I start quickly becoming part of your past. But in that instant, I get to share a part of your present. And you get to share a part of mine. And that is the greatest present of all. ~ Sarah Kay.

When you fall in love, it is discovering the ocean after years of puddle jumping. ~ Sarah Kay.

Spoken word teaches that if you have the ability to express yourself and the courage to present those stories and opinions, you could be rewarded with a room full of your peers or your community who will listen. ~ Sarah Kay.

One thing that I believe is that every time I write something, I am taking the time to celebrate. Even if I am writing a sad story or an angry poem, I am still giving those stories my time and attention. ~ Sarah Kay.

Thought-Provoking Sarah Kay Quotes

You will put the wind in win some, lose some. You will put the star in starting over, and over. ~ Sarah Kay.

I think there is a human instinct to tell stories, no matter who you are or where you live. ~ Sarah Kay.

Not all poetry wants to be storytelling. And not all storytelling wants to be poetry. But great storytellers and great poets share something in common: They had something to say, and did. ~ Sarah Kay.

Be careful, darling. Your footsteps land heavy here. Your racket will wake the dragons. ~ Sarah Kay.

If he leaves you with a car alarm heart, you learn to sing along. ~ Sarah Kay.

Our day-to-day lives are pretty chaotic. So in terms of the writing part, you have to get pretty disciplined about finding quiet moments and making sure you’re making time for the art side, on top of all the time-consuming business side. ~ Sarah Kay.

Things that I have a hard time being able to fully grasp, sometimes writing the poem helps me work through it. Or I get to the end of the poem and I still haven’t figured anything out, but at least I have a new poem out of it. ~ Sarah Kay.

My world was the size of a crayon box, and it took every color to draw her. ~ Sarah Kay.

I do like celebrating women, I do like celebrating different lifestyles and choices and people and it makes me happy when others find my work empowering. ~ Sarah Kay.

Do not mistake yourself for a guardian Or a muse, or a promise, or a victim, or a snack You are a woman, skin and bones, veins and nerves, hair and sweat You are not made of metaphors, not apologies, not excuses. ~ Sarah Kay.

I will wake up early with my heavy heartbeat. You will say. Can’t we just sleep in, and I will say, No, trust me. You don’t want to miss a thing. ~ Sarah Kay.

Don’t be tricked into thinking it’s always your turn to talk. Sometimes your privilege means that it is your turn to listen. ~ Sarah Kay.

You are not made of metaphors, Not apologies, not excuses. ~ Sarah Kay.

I want to welcome folks to poetry, especially those who may have previously felt unwelcome; I want to celebrate everyone who is trying to make sense of this world through poetry the way I try to. ~ Sarah Kay.

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Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. ~ Sarah Kay.

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. ~ Sarah Kay.

Sarah Kay Quotes on Poetry

You can only fit so many words in a postcard, only so many in a phone call, only so many into space before you forget that words are sometimes used for things other than filling emptiness. ~ Sarah Kay.

Little girls learn to sing the perfect man before we ever know what the lyrics mean. Strong arms. Good hair. Wide eyes. Brave heart. Big money. ~ Sarah Kay.

When words become a poem, it makes sense to me, but I don’t know how to explain to someone why the words are the way they are. It’s just the logic of the poem to me. ~ Sarah Kay.

There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away. ~ Sarah Kay.

Fingers interlocked like a beautiful accordion of flesh or a zipper of prayer. ~ Sarah Kay.

Everyone is allowed to explore their fears and flaws and joys without having to feel stupid for being human. ~ Sarah Kay.

It does not matter how strong your gravity is, we were always meant to fly. ~ Sarah Kay.


So these were the 75 top Sarah Kay quotes and sayings.

Tell me in the comments section, which Sarah Kay quotes were your favorite?

If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Werner Erhard quotes and Frances Perkins quotes.


Short Biography of Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay, an American poet born on June 19, 1988, is celebrated for her spoken word poetry and is the founder of Project V.O.I.C.E., which promotes spoken word as a tool for education and inspiration.

Full Name Sarah Kay
Occupation Poet
Born 19 June 1988 (age 35 years), New York, New York, United States
Nationality American
Education United Nations International School, Brown University
Siblings Philip Kay
Website kaysarahsera.com

With a diverse heritage, Kay grew up in New York City and pursued a Master of Arts in teaching from Brown University, along with an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College.

She began her poetry journey at 14 in New York’s Bowery Poetry Club and has since graced many stages, including the TED conference and the United Nations.

Kay has also made her mark in print, with publications in various magazines and several illustrated poetry books to her name, showcasing her commitment to blending visual art with poetry.


Quick Facts about Sarah Kay

  • Sarah Kay is an American poet, renowned for her spoken word poetry.
  • She started performing at the Bowery Poetry Club at 14 and joined their Slam Team in 2006.
  • Kay is the youngest competitor in the 2006 National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas.
  • She made her TV debut on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam in 2007 with her poem “Hands.”
  • Kay has performed at prestigious venues including the Lincoln Center and the United Nations.
  • In 2011, she delivered a performance and talk at the TED conference in Long Beach, California.
  • She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College.
  • Kay has published poems in various magazines and has a weekly column in The Paris Review.
  • Her book “B” was published in 2011, featuring the titular poem and illustrations by Sophia Janowitz.
  • “No Matter the Wreckage,” a collection of her poetry, was released in 2014 with illustrations by Janowitz.
  • In 2016, Kay published “The Type,” an illustrated version of her poem with Janowitz’s drawings.
  • Her work “All Our Wild Wonder,” released in 2018, celebrates educators and learning, illustrated by Janowitz.
  • She co-directs and founded Project V.O.I.C.E., promoting spoken word as an educational tool.
  • Kay announced her podcast “Sincerely, X,” produced by TEDTalks and Audible, in 2019.
  • Born to a Japanese American mother and Jewish American father in New York City, Kay has a younger brother named Philip.

Top Questions about Sarah Kay

Q: What is Sarah Kay’s current profession?

A: Sarah Kay is actively engaged in writing, reading, and performing poetry for a variety of audiences. She also holds the position of co-director and founder of Project VOICE.

Q: What is Sarah Kay renowned for?

A: Sarah Kay became popular as the 2022 New Arizona Fellow at New America and has authored four poetry books: “No Matter the Wreckage,” “B,” “The Type,” and “All Our Wild Wonder.” She is also known for founding Project VOICE, an initiative aimed at using poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire both students and teachers globally.

Q: Can you tell me about the actress Sarah Kay?

A: Sarah Kay is a Filipino-American actor, singer, and dancer with a background in Musical Theatre, who originates from Simi Valley, California. She moved to New York City to pursue her BFA in Musical Theatre and enjoys creating R&B music, baking, journaling, and photography.

Q: Who created the imagery associated with Sarah Kay?

A: The iconic imagery of Sarah Kay was crafted by Vivien Kubbos, an artist at Valentine Publishing, and was first introduced in Australia in the early 1970s.

Q: Why does Sarah Kay write poetry?

A: Sarah Kay writes poetry because it has been an integral part of her life from a young age, serving as a lens through which she views the world and seeks out moments of significance.

Q: How does Sarah Kay define spoken word poetry?

A: Sarah Kay describes spoken word poetry as a performance art that goes beyond the written page, demanding to be heard aloud or experienced in person.

Q: What themes are explored in Sarah Kay’s poem “The Type”?

A: In “The Type,” Sarah Kay delves into themes of empowerment and identity, utilizing repetition and connotation to highlight how women’s identities are often defined in relation to men.

Q: What is the message conveyed in the conclusion of “The Type” by Sarah Kay?

A: The conclusion of “The Type” emphasizes self-empowerment, suggesting that despite challenges and objectification, women have the inherent strength to build and live their desired lives.

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Chandan Negi
Chandan Negi

I’m the Founder of Internet Pillar - I love sharing quotes and motivational content to inspire and motivate people - #quotes #motivation #internetpillar

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