--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could imagine it in a way that felt…" description: "\"“I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering”\" — Ben Lerner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg" --- # I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering ![“I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg) > ““I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering”” [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes an experience that feels like recalling something imagined. **In simple terms:** It feels like remembering a imagined scene. Key Takeaway Explore the line between imagination and memory. Themes imagination memory creativity Mood thoughtful poetic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - dream analysis Key Concepts subjective perception nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to remember something you never experienced? - How can this feeling inspire artistic work? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Felt Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-like/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-way-1720727/) [Like Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-remembering-1203826/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't like remembering. Remembering makes me feel things. I don't like to feel things. I'm thinking I could spend the rest of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-don-t-like-remembering-remembering-makes-me-feel-things-i-don-t/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I don't like remembering. Remembering makes me feel things. I don't like feeling things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-don-t-like-remembering-remembering-makes-me-feel-things-i-don-t-2/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“It is like remembering two different lives at once...and wondering which of them is mine...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harwood/it-is-like-remembering-two-different-lives-at-once-and-wondering/) [John Harwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harwood/) > [Forgetting someone you love is like remembering someone you never met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgetting-someone-you-love-is-like-remembering-someone-you-never-met/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to forget someone you loved is like remembering someone you never knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-forget-someone-you-loved-is-like-remembering-someone-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I like remembering her as she was—a fantasy of the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-like-remembering-her-as-she-was-a-fantasy-of-the-future/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“To tell your soul that you love it, is like remembering who you are after being in a coma for a hundred years. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/to-tell-your-soul-that-you-love-it-is-like-remembering-who-you-are/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It wasn't the forgetting Caleb didn't like, it was the remembering”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/it-wasn-t-the-forgetting-caleb-didn-t-like-it-was-the-remembering/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Writing fiction is like remembering what never happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/writing-fiction-is-like-remembering-what-never-happened/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“You have to imagine your way through. Never say something can't be done, even if it's weird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/you-have-to-imagine-your-way-through-never-say-something-can-t-be/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [What you imagine has a way of coming true, but what is only pretended never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/what-you-imagine-has-a-way-of-coming-true-but-what-is-only-pretended/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [I am the same on camera as I am off. I can't imagine being any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-the-same-on-camera-as-i-am-off-i-can-t-imagine-being-any-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To imagine the way we think is the singular causative agent of all we go through is to practice cruelty toward ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/to-imagine-the-way-we-think-is-the-singular-causative-agent-of-all-we/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [“And the rain is brain-coloured, and the thunder is like something remembering something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-rice/and-the-rain-is-brain-coloured-and-the-thunder-is-like-something/) [Stan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-rice/) > [“Thinking ahead is like remembering the future. How about that time we made love? I’ll bet it will be amazing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/thinking-ahead-is-like-remembering-the-future-how-about-that-time-we/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## 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/) [Explore all 73 Ben Lerner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Lerner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-like-remembering/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-like-remembering/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/ben-lerner-9267_imagination_i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-li_2138486.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I could imagine it in a way that felt like remembering” — Ben Lerner", "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": "Ben Lerner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I could imagine it in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-like-remembering/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-could-imagine-it-in-a-way-that-felt-like-remembering/#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 } } ] } ```