--- title: "8 Modern Writers Quotes by 8 authors" description: "Browse 8 Modern Writers quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Modern Writers sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png" --- > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png) > [ “The fascination of \[Joseph Conrad’s\] writing lies in a singular blending of reality with romance – he paints a world of strange… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writing-lies-in-a-singular/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/john-galsworthy-4232_conrad_the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writi_761893.png) > [Modern writers are the moons of literature; they shine with reflected light, with light borrowed from the ancients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literature-they-shine-with-reflected/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/samuel-johnson-50_book_modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literatu_1338833.png) > [“I do not know by what extraordinary mental accident modern writers so constantly connect the idea of progress with the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-mental-accident-modern-writers-so-2/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab1/g-k-chesterton-224_independent-thinking_i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-ment_1981386.jpg) > [“Modern writers usually don't know what it was like to live in the past, but Rushworth-Brown has done this with great skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rushworth-brown/modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-it-was-like-to-live-in-the/) [Paul Rushworth-Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rushworth-brown/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/paul-rushworth-brown-175536_books_modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-i_2075156.jpg) > [The writers I care about most and never grow tired of are: Shakespeare, Swift, Fielding, Dickens, Charles Reade, Flaubert and, among modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never-grow-tired-of-are-shakespeare/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/george-orwell-57_admire_the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never_2204524.jpg) > [“The communication function of modern writers is akin to the ancient role fulfilled by tribal shamans. All writers ultimately perform a shamanistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/the-communication-function-of-modern-writers-is-akin-to-the-ancient/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/kilroy-j-oldster-1049_communication_the-communication-function-of-modern-wri_2710549.jpg) > [When modern writers gave up telling stories, they gave up the greatest thing we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stories-they-gave-up-the-greatest/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/howard-nemerov-12728_modern_when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stor_3225424.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-writers/#itemlist", "name": "Modern Writers Quotes", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things about them: 1. They all had editors. 2. They are all dead. Thus we can draw the scientific conclusion that editors are fatal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave Barry" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. 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How many writers, without cream inside the churn, are turning out butter!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Galsworthy" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writing-lies-in-a-singular/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/john-galsworthy-4232_conrad_the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writi_761893.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/john-galsworthy-4232_conrad_the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writi_761893.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/john-galsworthy-4232_conrad_the-fascination-of-joseph-conrad-s-writi_761893.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fascination of [Joseph Conrad’s] writing lies in a singular blending of reality with romance – he paints…” — John Galsworthy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Modern writers are the moons of literature; they shine with reflected light, with light borrowed from the ancients.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literature-they-shine-with-reflected/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/samuel-johnson-50_book_modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literatu_1338833.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/samuel-johnson-50_book_modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literatu_1338833.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/samuel-johnson-50_book_modern-writers-are-the-moons-of-literatu_1338833.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Modern writers are the moons of literature; they shine with reflected light, with light borrowed from the…” — Samuel Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I do not know by what extraordinary mental accident modern writers so constantly connect the idea of progress with the idea of independent thinking.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G.K. Chesterton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-mental-accident-modern-writers-so-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab1/g-k-chesterton-224_independent-thinking_i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-ment_1981386.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab1/g-k-chesterton-224_independent-thinking_i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-ment_1981386.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab1/g-k-chesterton-224_independent-thinking_i-do-not-know-by-what-extraordinary-ment_1981386.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not know by what extraordinary mental accident modern writers so constantly connect the idea of…” — G.K. Chesterton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Modern writers usually don't know what it was like to live in the past, but Rushworth-Brown has done this with great skill in this accomplished, atmospheric and thoughtful novel.” — US National Times”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Rushworth-Brown" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rushworth-brown/modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-it-was-like-to-live-in-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/paul-rushworth-brown-175536_books_modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-i_2075156.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/paul-rushworth-brown-175536_books_modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-i_2075156.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/paul-rushworth-brown-175536_books_modern-writers-usually-don-t-know-what-i_2075156.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Modern writers usually don't know what it was like to live in the past, but Rushworth-Brown has done this…” — Paul Rushworth-Brown", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The writers I care about most and never grow tired of are: Shakespeare, Swift, Fielding, Dickens, Charles Reade, Flaubert and, among modern writers, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot and D. H. Lawrence. But I believe the modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham, whom I admire immensely for his power of telling a story straightforwardly and without frills.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never-grow-tired-of-are-shakespeare/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/george-orwell-57_admire_the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never_2204524.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/george-orwell-57_admire_the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never_2204524.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/george-orwell-57_admire_the-writers-i-care-about-most-and-never_2204524.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The writers I care about most and never grow tired of are: Shakespeare, Swift, Fielding, Dickens, Charles…” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The communication function of modern writers is akin to the ancient role fulfilled by tribal shamans. All writers ultimately perform a shamanistic role in society; their mythmaking voices speak to us from the underworld after their passage to the other side. Writers place themselves in a trance-like state where their unconscious mind dictates to them what to write.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kilroy J. 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Oldster", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When modern writers gave up telling stories, they gave up the greatest thing we had.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Nemerov" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stories-they-gave-up-the-greatest/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/howard-nemerov-12728_modern_when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stor_3225424.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/howard-nemerov-12728_modern_when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stor_3225424.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/howard-nemerov-12728_modern_when-modern-writers-gave-up-telling-stor_3225424.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When modern writers gave up telling stories, they gave up the greatest thing we had.” — Howard Nemerov", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-writers/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-writers/", "name": "Modern Writers Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-writers/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/dave-barry-222_conclusion_if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern_38298.png" }, "description": "Browse 8 Modern Writers quotes by 8 authors. 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