---
title: "1 Obviously Changed Quotes By Ben Lerner"
description: "1 Obviously Changed quotes by Ben Lerner. Plus more from Ben Lerner and more Obviously Changed sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/ben-lerner-9267_books_the-story-and-the-poem-are-obviously-cha_586251.jpg"
---

> [The story and the poem are obviously changed by being placed in the novel, so in a sense they're no longer the works that preceded the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-story-and-the-poem-are-obviously-changed-by-being-placed-in-the/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/ben-lerner-9267_books_the-story-and-the-poem-are-obviously-cha_586251.jpg)

## More by Ben Lerner

> [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [Shaving is a way to start the workday by ritually not cutting your throat when you've the chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/shaving-is-a-way-to-start-the-workday-by-ritually-not-cutting-your/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“What you need to do is harness the self-love you are hypostasizing as offspring, as the next generation of you, and let it branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/what-you-need-to-do-is-harness-the-self-love-you-are-hypostasizing-as/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-i-want-to-say-something-to-the-schoolchildren-of-america-who-were/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“Part of what makes the book bizzare is that Whitman, because he wants to stand for everyone, because he wants to be less a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/part-of-what-makes-the-book-bizzare-is-that-whitman-because-he-wants/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [I didn't want to write another book about fraudulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-didn-t-want-to-write-another-book-about-fraudulence/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [The problem is that if you're self-conscious about being a person on whom nothing is lost, isn't something lost - some kind of presence?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-problem-is-that-if-you-re-self-conscious-about-being-a-person-on/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [Most of us start from that position of irony now and what I wanted to do - really felt like I had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/most-of-us-start-from-that-position-of-irony-now-and-what-i-wanted-to/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [Laser technology has fulfilled our people's ancient dream of a blade so fine that the person it cuts remains standing and alive until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/laser-technology-has-fulfilled-our-people-s-ancient-dream-of-a-blade/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/our-contempt-for-any-particular-poem-must-be-perfect-be-total-because/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [If I was a poet, I had become one because poetry, more intensely than any other practice, could not evade its anachronism and marginality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/if-i-was-a-poet-i-had-become-one-because-poetry-more-intensely-than/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [Your interviews or blog posts or whatever are less supplements to your novel than part of it. I'm not private, but I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/your-interviews-or-blog-posts-or-whatever-are-less-supplements-to/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [“I’m going to kill the president. I promise. I surrender. I'm sorry. I'm gay. I'm pregnant. I'm dying. I'm not your father. You're fired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-going-to-kill-the-president-i-promise-i-surrender-i-m-sorry-i-m/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

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