--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every writer owes something to a…" description: "\"Every writer owes something to a particular tradition he/she grew up in. But no serious writer - other than the militantly nationalist ones - would red..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg" --- # Every writer owes something to a particular tradition… ![“Every writer owes something to a particular tradition he/she grew up in. But no serious writer - other than the militantly nationalist ones - would reduce his/her domain of influence to a single tradition. Furthermore, historical breaks are so common and large in Europe that there are ruptures in…” quote by Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg) > “Every writer owes something to a particular tradition he/she grew up in. But no serious writer - other than the militantly nationalist ones - would reduce his/her domain of influence to a single tradition. Furthermore, historical breaks are so common and large in Europe that there are ruptures in every tradition which then connect the same generations across national borders. Younger Eastern European writers, for instance, have more in common with other writers of the same age in Europe, than with the previous, communist-era generations in their own countries.” [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers are shaped by their cultural roots but must transcend them to engage broader audiences. **In simple terms:** Writers should honor tradition yet reach beyond it. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse influences while staying true to personal voice. Themes literature cultural identity globalism tradition modernity Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary critical When to use this quote - publishing - academic study - cross‑cultural collaborations - literary festivals Key Concepts intertextuality nationalism borderless narratives generational shifts Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance heritage with universal relevance? - What risks arise from abandoning tradition? A Different Perspective Some argue that focusing on tradition preserves cultural uniqueness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-writers-749916/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Eastern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eastern/) [European Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/european-writers-749915/) [Generations Countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-countries-749918/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Furthermore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-furthermore-749917/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To write is, indeed, no unpleasing employment, when one sentiment readily produces another, and both ideas and expressions present themselves at the first summons;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-write-is-indeed-no-unpleasing-employment-when-one-sentiment/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [But we should ask the question: Why should a writer be more than a writer? Why should a writer be a guru? Why are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/but-we-should-ask-the-question-why-should-a-writer-be-more-than-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I always read the Latin American writers. I love so many of them: Gabriel García Márquez, José Donoso, Alejo Carpentier, Jorge Luis Borges, Clarice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-always-read-the-latin-american-writers-i-love-so-many-of-them/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [“All European writers are ‘slaves of their baptism,’ if I may paraphrase Rimbaud; like it or not, their writing carries baggage from an immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/all-european-writers-are-slaves-of-their-baptism-if-i-may-paraphrase/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [I'm definitely more influenced by European writers than I am by American writers, there's no doubt about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-m-definitely-more-influenced-by-european-writers-than-i-am-by/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [ The other thing we did as government is to open gates for the civilians to leave that \[ eastern part\] area \[in Aleppo\], and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/the-other-thing-we-did-as-government-is-to-open-gates-for-the/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [From the Far Eastern perspective, 29 is considered a very special age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/from-the-far-eastern-perspective-29-is-considered-a-very-special-age/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The idea of building a Near Eastern house in Honolulu must seem fantastic to many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-duke/the-idea-of-building-a-near-eastern-house-in-honolulu-must-seem/) [Doris Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-duke/) > [Science and art may invent splendid modes of illuminating the apartments of the opulent; but these are all poor and worthless compared with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/science-and-art-may-invent-splendid-modes-of-illuminating-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [The United States is filled with power places. The majority of them, however, are to be found either along the West Coast and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-united-states-is-filled-with-power-places-the-majority-of-them/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The Games have been decimated. If you take away the Eastern Bloc, you take away 50% of the medals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-pickering/the-games-have-been-decimated-if-you-take-away-the-eastern-bloc-you/) [Ron Pickering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-pickering/) > [Sydney CBD is the eastern city, Parramatta is the central city and Badgerys will be the third city in greater Sydney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/sydney-cbd-is-the-eastern-city-parramatta-is-the-central-city-and/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [Elevated locations imply elevated purposes, even in American cities departing as radically as Los Angeles does from the traditional planning patterns of the Eastern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/elevated-locations-imply-elevated-purposes-even-in-american-cities/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) ## More by Aleksandar Hemon > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [To me there's no difference between a book of stories and a novel - they're just slightly different shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/to-me-there-s-no-difference-between-a-book-of-stories-and-a-novel/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Lord, why did you leave me in these woods?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/lord-why-did-you-leave-me-in-these-woods/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I want to change something. I want to stop the germs from attacking my daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-want-to-change-something-i-want-to-stop-the-germs-from-attacking-my/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I know a lot of people in the city, at all levels, horizontally and vertically - and that to me is a privilege, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-know-a-lot-of-people-in-the-city-at-all-levels-horizontally-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [What fiction and art can do, particularly narrative art, is construct consciousness - in a sense, we have to do it for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/what-fiction-and-art-can-do-particularly-narrative-art-is-construct/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I read everything I could find in English - Twain, Henry James, Hemingway, really everything. And then after a while I started writing shorter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-read-everything-i-could-find-in-english-twain-henry-james-hemingway/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [It was always clear to me that I would have to earn my readers, some I would have to find, some to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/it-was-always-clear-to-me-that-i-would-have-to-earn-my-readers-some-i/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I never thought of myself as an outsider. Because outside of what? You would have to give advantage to this space where you're not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-never-thought-of-myself-as-an-outsider-because-outside-of-what-you/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [There are studies that have shown that we make decisions, ethical and otherwise, based on the way we imagine ourselves as characters in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/there-are-studies-that-have-shown-that-we-make-decisions-ethical-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I long for, not a writer's retreat - I can write in any situation - but a reader's retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-long-for-not-a-writer-s-retreat-i-can-write-in-any-situation-but-a/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I much preferred winning to thinking and I didn't like losing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-much-preferred-winning-to-thinking-and-i-didn-t-like-losing-at-all/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Memory narrativises itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/memory-narrativises-itself/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) [Explore all 236 Aleksandar Hemon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every writer owes something to a particular tradition he/she grew up in. But no serious writer - other than the militantly nationalist ones - would reduce his/her domain of influence to a single tradition. Furthermore, historical breaks are so common and large in Europe that there are ruptures in every tradition which then connect the same generations across national borders. Younger Eastern European writers, for instance, have more in common with other writers of the same age in Europe, than with the previous, communist-era generations in their own countries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aleksandar Hemon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particular-tradition-he-she-grew-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particular-tradition-he-she-grew-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/aleksandar-hemon-1490_age_every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particu_1660270.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every writer owes something to a particular tradition he/she grew up in. But no serious writer - other than…” — Aleksandar Hemon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aleksandar Hemon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every writer owes something to a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particular-tradition-he-she-grew-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/every-writer-owes-something-to-a-particular-tradition-he-she-grew-up/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```