--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have for a long time loved fabulist…" description: "\"I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png" --- # I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative… ![“I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring…” quote by Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png) > “I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds.” [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction that bends reality reveals deeper truths about humanity and the world. **In simple terms:** Imaginative stories teach real insights. Key Takeaway Read speculative works to broaden perspective. Themes imagination truth literature magic realism philosophy Mood inspired thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts narrative distortion cultural critique creative insight Questions to Reflect On - How does distortion reveal truth? - What stories changed your view? A Different Perspective The claim may ignore that not all distorted narratives are insightful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marquez/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Realist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realist/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think of science fiction as being part of the great river of imaginative fiction that has flowed through English literature, probably for 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-think-of-science-fiction-as-being-part-of-the-great-river-of/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The use of imaginative fiction is to deepen your understanding of your world, and your fellow men, and your own feelings, and your destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-use-of-imaginative-fiction-is-to-deepen-your-understanding-of/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [There are very few people who are creative and imaginative. Therefore, fiction is difficult for people to embrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/there-are-very-few-people-who-are-creative-and-imaginative-therefore/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [To think that realistic fiction is by definition superior to imaginative fiction is to think imitation is superior to invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-think-that-realistic-fiction-is-by-definition-superior-to/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/income-tax-returns-are-the-most-imaginative-fiction-being-written/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [I always knew I wanted to write really imaginative fiction - fiction that was very different from my real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-trussoni/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-write-really-imaginative-fiction-fiction/) [Danielle Trussoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-trussoni/) > [The only imaginative fiction being written today is income tax returns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/the-only-imaginative-fiction-being-written-today-is-income-tax-returns/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [A lot of writers fall in love with their sentences or their construction of sentences, and sometimes that's great, but not everybody is Gabriel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/a-lot-of-writers-fall-in-love-with-their-sentences-or-their/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" In reality, "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" were probably not Simon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/how-will-i-ever-get-out-of-this-labyrinth-in-reality-how-will-i-ever/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [For those fed up with the lack of mystery at the top of the Premiership, could I refer you to the commanding heights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-chapman/for-those-fed-up-with-the-lack-of-mystery-at-the-top-of-the/) Peter Chapman > ['One Hundred Years of Solitude' convinced me to drop out of Harvard graduate school. 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I think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez speaks a lot about reality in his magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-think-that-it-s-important-to-try-to-keep-reality-i-think-that/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## More by Alan Lightman > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/every-reader-gets-something-different-from-a-book-and-every-reader-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > ["The Diagnosis" is by far my most ambitious book. I such great hopes for it... there was so much I wanted to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-diagnosis-is-by-far-my-most-ambitious-book-i-such-great-hopes-for/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Except for a God who sits down after the universe begins, all other gods conflict with the assumptions of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/except-for-a-god-who-sits-down-after-the-universe-begins-all-other/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/each-person-who-gets-stuck-in-time-gets-stuck-alone/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [A writer is someone who has a one-man tent in the desert and occasionally he sees the footprint of an other writer - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/a-writer-is-someone-who-has-a-one-man-tent-in-the-desert-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Time is a rigid, bonelike structure, extending infinitely ahead and behind, fossilizing the future as well as the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-a-rigid-bonelike-structure-extending-infinitely-ahead-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [For me, spirituality includes the belief in things larger than ourselves, an appreciation of nature and beauty, a sensitivity to the world, a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/for-me-spirituality-includes-the-belief-in-things-larger-than/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Writers are a loosely knit community - community is an overstated word. Writers don't see each other very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/writers-are-a-loosely-knit-community-community-is-an-overstated-word/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Imagine a world in which there is no time. Only images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/imagine-a-world-in-which-there-is-no-time-only-images/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Time is the clarity for seeing right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-the-clarity-for-seeing-right-and-wrong/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [In this world, time has three dimensions, like space. Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-time-has-three-dimensions-like-space-just-as-an-object/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-there-are-two-times-there-is-mechanical-time-and-there/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Explore all 174 Alan Lightman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) ## More Borges quotes > [I'm educating myself more about world poetry. I know a lot about contemporary American poetry, so I felt I needed to learn more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-joseph/i-m-educating-myself-more-about-world-poetry-i-know-a-lot-about/) [Allison Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-joseph/) > [ \[Jorge Luis Borges\] had short stories, and I was trying to learn how to write short stories, and then he had these things in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/jorge-luis-borges-had-short-stories-and-i-was-trying-to-learn-how-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [ I would say that Edgar Allan Poe, \[Georges\] Perec, Thomas Pynchon, and \[Jorge Luis\] Borges are all boy-writers. These are writers who take... a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-would-say-that-edgar-allan-poe-georges-perec-thomas-pynchon-and/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“As Borges has taught us, all the books in the library are contemporary. Great poems are like granaries: they are always ready to enlarge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/as-borges-has-taught-us-all-the-books-in-the-library-are-contemporary/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Perhaps, as Borges concludes in his story, it is forgetting, not remembering, that is the essence of what makes us human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/perhaps-as-borges-concludes-in-his-story-it-is-forgetting-not/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“Oh, Buenos Aires, I have traveled around the world, but I’ve never been separated from you,” said Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges. And Saint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/oh-buenos-aires-i-have-traveled-around-the-world-but-i-ve-never-been/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [“Si me quieren buscar, búsquenme en los libros. No los lean, por favor, si no obtienen placer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/si-me-quieren-buscar-b-squenme-en-los-libros-no-los-lean-por-favor-si/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Nazi Literature in the Americas, a wicked invented encyclopedia of imaginary fascist writers and literary tastemakers, is Bolaño playing with sharp, twisting knives. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-d-erasmo/nazi-literature-in-the-americas-a-wicked-invented-encyclopedia-of/) Stacey D'Erasmo > [“The hours I spent in this anachronistic, bibliophile, Anglophile retreat were in surreal contrast to the shrieking horror show that was being enacted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-hours-i-spent-in-this-anachronistic-bibliophile-anglophile/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ “This book first arose out of a passage in \[Jorge Luis\] Borges, out of the laughter that shattered, as I read the passage, all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/this-book-first-arose-out-of-a-passage-in-jorge-luis-borges-out-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“Sanjala sam da sam J.L.Borges, koji je nekim čudom uskrsnuo, progledao, lupio se dlanom po čelu i brzo pretvorio u - Paula Coelha.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dubravka-ugre-i/sanjala-sam-da-sam-j-l-borges-koji-je-nekim-udom-uskrsnuo-progledao/) [Dubravka Ugrešić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dubravka-ugre-i/) > [One should read Borges more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/one-should-read-borges-more/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [I was an eccentric teenager in suburban New Jersey, in a town mostly interested in sports, popularity, and clothes. A fan of Jorge Luis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-was-an-eccentric-teenager-in-suburban-new-jersey-in-a-town-mostly/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [“Borges is particularly stimulating to a man who works in the cinema, because the unusual thing about his writing is that it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/borges-is-particularly-stimulating-to-a-man-who-works-in-the-cinema/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [From Borges, those wonderful gaucho stories from which I learned that you can be specific as to a time and place and culture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stories-from-which-i-learned-that/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) Browse all 64 Borges quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. 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