QuoteProject
I stand before you as a writer without any ground of being out of which to write: really blown about from country to country, culture to culture till I feel - till I am - nothing. As it happens, I like it that way.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the experiences of a writer who feels rooted in no specific place or culture, yet embraces this fluidity.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala expresses a sense of dislocation as a writer, moving through various cultures without a fixed identity. This transient existence, although it may seem unsettling, is seen positively; the absence of a defined background allows for a broader range of experiences and insights, fostering creativity and adaptability in her writing.

Themes

IdentityTravelCultureWritingCreativityDislocation

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about finding inspiration in diverse cultures, this quote can illustrate the beauty of a writer's journey.

Similar quotes

No philosopher understands his predecessors until he has re-thought their thought in his own contemporary terms.
P. F. StrawsonRead
It was a wine jar when the molding began: as the wheel runs round why does it turn out a water pitcher?
HoraceRead
Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.
Lewis CarrollRead
How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.
Eric HofferRead
The tumalt and shouting dies, The captains and the kings depart. Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heat. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget.
Rudyard KiplingRead
New York is something awful, something monstrous. I like to walk the streets, lost, but I recognize that New York is the world's greatest lie. New York is Senegal with machines.
Federico Garcia LorcaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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