--- title: "18 Writing Biography Quotes by 15 authors" description: "Browse 18 Writing Biography quotes by 15 authors. Discover the best Writing Biography sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/sammy-hagar-7920_biographies_i-m-writing-my-biography-it-s-my-busines_1004450.png" --- > [I'm writing my biography. It's my business. This is what happened in my life, and I'm writing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-hagar/i-m-writing-my-biography-it-s-my-business-this-is-what-happened-in-my/) [Sammy Hagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-hagar/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/sammy-hagar-7920_biographies_i-m-writing-my-biography-it-s-my-busines_1004450.png) > [Writing a biography is not a love affair. It’s not a marriage. It’s a job, it’s a piece of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermione-lee/writing-a-biography-is-not-a-love-affair-it-s-not-a-marriage-it-s-a/) [Hermione Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermione-lee/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/hermione-lee-46414_affair_writing-a-biography-is-not-a-love-affair_751622.jpg) > [Live your life as if you are writing your Biography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshia-chante/live-your-life-as-if-you-are-writing-your-biography/) [Keshia Chante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshia-chante/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/keshia-chante-29757_biographies_live-your-life-as-if-you-are-writing-you_1978331.jpg) > [Great writing can be done in biography, history, art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/great-writing-can-be-done-in-biography-history-art/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/v-s-naipaul-3828_art_great-writing-can-be-done-in-biography-h_3106989.png) > [ \[On writing biography:\] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see-a-person-you-must-not-start/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see_3015501.jpg) > [When I was a boy, I began writing a biography of Shakespeare, and since then I've written a number of biographies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyles-brandreth/when-i-was-a-boy-i-began-writing-a-biography-of-shakespeare-and-since/) [Gyles Brandreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyles-brandreth/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/847/gyles-brandreth-4172_famous_when-i-was-a-boy-i-began-writing-a-biogr_2395340.jpg) > [In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. And if they are, the fictional points should be printed in red ink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-drinker-bowen/in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-shouldn-t-be-mixed-and-if-they/) [Catherine Drinker Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-drinker-bowen/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/catherine-drinker-bowen-22445_black_in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-sh_334311.png) > [Qualities absolutely necessary for a historian: (1) Imagination. (2) Prejudice. (3) The power of writing your own biography at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-historian-1-imagination-2/) [Mary Elizabeth Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce4/mary-elizabeth-coleridge-36718_biographies_qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-his_1448239.png) > [“Everyone is an autobiographer nowadays, it’s like everyone is actively writing their own biography all the time,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wallman/everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-it-s-like-everyone-is-actively/) [James Wallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wallman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/james-wallman-36829_autobiographer_everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-i_2353817.jpg) > [ \[On writing biography:\] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is-at-once-so-complex-and-so/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg) > [I discovered in writing the biography of Bill Clinton that it is actually easier to write a biography of someone who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of-bill-clinton-that-it-is/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/david-maraniss-22930_bills_i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of_3200841.jpg) > [I don't put myself into the category of 'rock star writing his biography.' That's because we live our lives by falling into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-garfunkel/i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of-rock-star-writing-his/) [Art Garfunkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-garfunkel/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/art-garfunkel-16874_falling_i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of_2167794.png) > [I try to find clues in the documented record - from the subject's own testimony, from the testimony of other people. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-record-from-the-subject-s-own/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/russell-freedman-22651_clue_i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-reco_3149994.jpg) > [Others are writing my biography, and let it rest as they elect to make it. I have lived my life, well and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-barton/others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let-it-rest-as-they-elect-to-make/) [Clara Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-barton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/clara-barton-16924_american-red-cross_others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let_1357619.png) > [Digging up new information and speculating on it isn't your primary purpose when you're writing a biography intended for young readers, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/digging-up-new-information-and-speculating-on-it-isn-t-your-primary/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/russell-freedman-22651_accepted_digging-up-new-information-and-speculati_3196045.jpg) > [Anyone writing a picture-book biography of Lincoln has a different set of responsibilities from someone writing a biography for sixth-graders, say, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography-of-lincoln-has-a-different/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/russell-freedman-22651_academic_anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography_59986.jpg) > [I think some authors suffer from a need to try to prove that they're clever and educated. I try not to suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need-to-try-to-prove-that-they-re/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/amity-shlaes-9137_about_i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need_1873741.jpg) > [I had a checklist in my mind of the things that make a biography practical. Is the source material centralized? Is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-teachout/i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-things-that-make-a-biography/) [Terry Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-teachout/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/terry-teachout-20913_20th-century_i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-thin_511894.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-biography/#itemlist", "name": "Writing Biography Quotes", "numberOfItems": 18, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm writing my biography. It's my business. 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And if they are, the fictional points should be printed in red ink, the facts printed in black ink.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherine Drinker Bowen" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-drinker-bowen/in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-shouldn-t-be-mixed-and-if-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/catherine-drinker-bowen-22445_black_in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-sh_334311.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/catherine-drinker-bowen-22445_black_in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-sh_334311.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/catherine-drinker-bowen-22445_black_in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-sh_334311.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. 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(3) The power of writing your own biography at the same time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Elizabeth Coleridge" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-historian-1-imagination-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce4/mary-elizabeth-coleridge-36718_biographies_qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-his_1448239.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce4/mary-elizabeth-coleridge-36718_biographies_qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-his_1448239.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce4/mary-elizabeth-coleridge-36718_biographies_qualities-absolutely-necessary-for-a-his_1448239.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Qualities absolutely necessary for a historian: (1) Imagination. (2) Prejudice. (3) The power of writing…” — Mary Elizabeth Coleridge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everyone is an autobiographer nowadays, it’s like everyone is actively writing their own biography all the time,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Wallman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wallman/everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-it-s-like-everyone-is-actively/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/james-wallman-36829_autobiographer_everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-i_2353817.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/james-wallman-36829_autobiographer_everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-i_2353817.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/james-wallman-36829_autobiographer_everyone-is-an-autobiographer-nowadays-i_2353817.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everyone is an autobiographer nowadays, it’s like everyone is actively writing their own biography all the…” — James Wallman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so profound, that any attempt to present it as a unified, consistent whole, to enclose it within a rigid frame, inevitably tempts one to cheat or to falsify.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Origo" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is-at-once-so-complex-and-so/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so…” — Iris Origo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I discovered in writing the biography of Bill Clinton that it is actually easier to write a biography of someone who is dead. Although you can't interview them, you have a fuller perspective on their whole life after they're gone and people are more willing to talk about them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Maraniss" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of-bill-clinton-that-it-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/david-maraniss-22930_bills_i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of_3200841.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/david-maraniss-22930_bills_i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of_3200841.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/david-maraniss-22930_bills_i-discovered-in-writing-the-biography-of_3200841.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I discovered in writing the biography of Bill Clinton that it is actually easier to write a biography of…” — David Maraniss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't put myself into the category of 'rock star writing his biography.' That's because we live our lives by falling into experiences. Things happen to us. Something you do takes hold of you, and then you do a lot of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Art Garfunkel" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-garfunkel/i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of-rock-star-writing-his/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/art-garfunkel-16874_falling_i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of_2167794.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/art-garfunkel-16874_falling_i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of_2167794.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/art-garfunkel-16874_falling_i-don-t-put-myself-into-the-category-of_2167794.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't put myself into the category of 'rock star writing his biography.' That's because we live our lives…” — Art Garfunkel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I try to find clues in the documented record - from the subject's own testimony, from the testimony of other people. When you're writing a biography, you're trying to understand your subject in the same way that you try to understand one of your friends, and that effort at understanding is always very imperfect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Freedman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-record-from-the-subject-s-own/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/russell-freedman-22651_clue_i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-reco_3149994.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/russell-freedman-22651_clue_i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-reco_3149994.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/russell-freedman-22651_clue_i-try-to-nd-clues-in-the-documented-reco_3149994.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I try to find clues in the documented record - from the subject's own testimony, from the testimony of other…” — Russell Freedman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Others are writing my biography, and let it rest as they elect to make it. I have lived my life, well and ill, always less well than I wanted it to be but it is, as it is, and as it has been; so small a thing, to have had so much about it!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clara Barton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-barton/others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let-it-rest-as-they-elect-to-make/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/clara-barton-16924_american-red-cross_others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let_1357619.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/clara-barton-16924_american-red-cross_others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let_1357619.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/clara-barton-16924_american-red-cross_others-are-writing-my-biography-and-let_1357619.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Others are writing my biography, and let it rest as they elect to make it. I have lived my life, well and…” — Clara Barton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Digging up new information and speculating on it isn't your primary purpose when you're writing a biography intended for young readers, unless you find compelling evidence that departs from the accepted wisdom. A biography for young people calls for the demanding art of distillation, the art of storytelling, and your responsibility is to stick as closely as possible to the documented record.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Freedman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/digging-up-new-information-and-speculating-on-it-isn-t-your-primary/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/russell-freedman-22651_accepted_digging-up-new-information-and-speculati_3196045.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/russell-freedman-22651_accepted_digging-up-new-information-and-speculati_3196045.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/russell-freedman-22651_accepted_digging-up-new-information-and-speculati_3196045.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Digging up new information and speculating on it isn't your primary purpose when you're writing a biography…” — Russell Freedman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anyone writing a picture-book biography of Lincoln has a different set of responsibilities from someone writing a biography for sixth-graders, say, or from a Lincoln scholar writing an academic book on Lincoln. Each of these writers has a different audience and different goals. That's obvious.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Freedman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography-of-lincoln-has-a-different/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/russell-freedman-22651_academic_anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography_59986.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/russell-freedman-22651_academic_anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography_59986.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/russell-freedman-22651_academic_anyone-writing-a-picture-book-biography_59986.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyone writing a picture-book biography of Lincoln has a different set of responsibilities from someone…” — Russell Freedman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think some authors suffer from a need to try to prove that they're clever and educated. I try not to suffer from that. I would rather sacrifice my own narrative in the exercise of writing a biography. So I'm not worried about whether I'm clever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amity Shlaes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need-to-try-to-prove-that-they-re/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/amity-shlaes-9137_about_i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need_1873741.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/amity-shlaes-9137_about_i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need_1873741.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/amity-shlaes-9137_about_i-think-some-authors-suffer-from-a-need_1873741.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think some authors suffer from a need to try to prove that they're clever and educated. I try not to…” — Amity Shlaes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had a checklist in my mind of the things that make a biography practical. Is the source material centralized? Is it easy to find? Are there new primary sources that no one has ever had access to? Are all the sources in English? If they're not, are they in a language that you speak? And I realized that not only is Armstrong the most important figure of Jazz in the 20th Century, but he's a perfect subject for a biography for all of these reasons. I had always loved his music and I had been fascinated in him as a personality. And that's really the key to writing a biography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Teachout" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-teachout/i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-things-that-make-a-biography/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/terry-teachout-20913_20th-century_i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-thin_511894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/terry-teachout-20913_20th-century_i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-thin_511894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/terry-teachout-20913_20th-century_i-had-a-checklist-in-my-mind-of-the-thin_511894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had a checklist in my mind of the things that make a biography practical. Is the source material…” — Terry Teachout", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-biography/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-biography/", "name": "Writing Biography Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-biography/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/sammy-hagar-7920_biographies_i-m-writing-my-biography-it-s-my-busines_1004450.png" }, "description": "Browse 18 Writing Biography quotes by 15 authors. 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