--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough to read Hesse and drink…" description: "\"“It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we must have the answers.”\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png" --- # It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we… ![“It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we must have the answers.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png) > ““It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we must have the answers.”” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual pursuits must be paired with concrete solutions, not just abstract reading. **In simple terms:** Reading isn’t enough; need answers. Key Takeaway Seek actionable knowledge. Themes knowledge action purpose Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research projects - policy making - personal decisions Key Concepts critical thinking practical wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What answers are you seeking? - How do you turn reading into action? A Different Perspective Theory can be detached from reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chowder Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chowder-answers-2648109/) [Drink Clam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink-clam-2648111/) [Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesse/) [Hesse Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesse-drink-2648110/) [Read Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-hesse-2648108/) ## Related quotes > [“I read Hesse's Steppenwolf thrice. The first time I was enchanted, the second time disappointed, the third time appalled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-read-hesse-s-steppenwolf-thrice-the-first-time-i-was-enchanted-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only lost photographs that were never taken know what my mind speaks of when we are alone together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-rice/only-lost-photographs-that-were-never-taken-know-what-my-mind-speaks/) [Daniel J. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-rice/) > [“And they didn't like to pay with trust and love, but rather with money and goods. They betrayed each other and expected being betrayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-they-didn-t-like-to-pay-with-trust-and-love-but-rather-with-money/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Quien no lleva dentro un lobo no tiene por eso que ser feliz tampoco.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/quien-no-lleva-dentro-un-lobo-no-tiene-por-eso-que-ser-feliz-tampoco/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“But there is one thing which these so clear, these so venerable teachings do not contain: they do not contain the mystery of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/but-there-is-one-thing-which-these-so-clear-these-so-venerable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/siddhartha-by-hermann-hesse/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [“Samoća je neovisnost, nju sam priželjkivao i godinama je nastojao izboriti. Bila je hladna, oh da, ali je bila i tiha, divno tiha i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/samo-a-je-neovisnost-nju-sam-pri-eljkivao-i-godinama-je-nastojao/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“For it cannot be denied that all over the world and in all ages there are beings who are perceived to be extraordinary, charming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-it-cannot-be-denied-that-all-over-the-world-and-in-all-ages-there/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest. Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/learn-what-is-to-be-taken-seriously-and-laugh-at-the-rest-hermann/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Stages As every flower fades and as all youth Departs, so life at every stage, So every virtue, so our grasp of truth, Blooms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/stages-as-every-flower-fades-and-as-all-youth-departs-so-life-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“He sat thus, lost in meditation, thinking Om, his soul as the arrow directed at Brahman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-sat-thus-lost-in-meditation-thinking-om-his-soul-as-the-arrow/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“What is meditation? What is leaving one's body? What is fasting? What is holding one's breath? It is fleeing from the self, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/what-is-meditation-what-is-leaving-one-s-body-what-is-fasting-what-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Hesse quotes > [“Only lost photographs that were never taken know what my mind speaks of when we are alone together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-rice/only-lost-photographs-that-were-never-taken-know-what-my-mind-speaks/) [Daniel J. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-rice/) > [“He sat thus, lost in meditation, thinking Om, his soul as the arrow directed at Brahman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-sat-thus-lost-in-meditation-thinking-om-his-soul-as-the-arrow/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Stages As every flower fades and as all youth Departs, so life at every stage, So every virtue, so our grasp of truth, Blooms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/stages-as-every-flower-fades-and-as-all-youth-departs-so-life-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest. Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/learn-what-is-to-be-taken-seriously-and-laugh-at-the-rest-hermann/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“For it cannot be denied that all over the world and in all ages there are beings who are perceived to be extraordinary, charming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-it-cannot-be-denied-that-all-over-the-world-and-in-all-ages-there/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Samoća je neovisnost, nju sam priželjkivao i godinama je nastojao izboriti. Bila je hladna, oh da, ali je bila i tiha, divno tiha i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/samo-a-je-neovisnost-nju-sam-pri-eljkivao-i-godinama-je-nastojao/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/siddhartha-by-hermann-hesse/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [“But there is one thing which these so clear, these so venerable teachings do not contain: they do not contain the mystery of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/but-there-is-one-thing-which-these-so-clear-these-so-venerable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Quien no lleva dentro un lobo no tiene por eso que ser feliz tampoco.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/quien-no-lleva-dentro-un-lobo-no-tiene-por-eso-que-ser-feliz-tampoco/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And they didn't like to pay with trust and love, but rather with money and goods. They betrayed each other and expected being betrayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-they-didn-t-like-to-pay-with-trust-and-love-but-rather-with-money/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“What is meditation? What is leaving one's body? What is fasting? What is holding one's breath? It is fleeing from the self, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/what-is-meditation-what-is-leaving-one-s-body-what-is-fasting-what-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Browse all 12 Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we must have the answers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink-clam-chowder-we-must-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hesse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink-clam-chowder-we-must-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/anne-sexton-645_hesse_it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink_2689768.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not enough to read Hesse and drink clam chowder, we must have the answers.” — Anne Sexton", "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": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is not enough to read...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink-clam-chowder-we-must-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-is-not-enough-to-read-hesse-and-drink-clam-chowder-we-must-have/#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 } } ] } ```