--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity…" description: "\"I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking city, a would-be Whitman of the vulnerable grid.\" — Ben Lerner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg" --- # I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking… ![“I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking city, a would-be Whitman of the vulnerable grid.” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg) > “I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking city, a would-be Whitman of the vulnerable grid.” [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. The speaker as to move from sarcastic detachment to genuine feeling in a decaying metropolis, aspiring to poetic authenticity like Whitman **In simple terms:** Transition from irony to sincerity in a deteriorating city Key Takeaway Seek authentic expression amid urban decay Themes urban decay artistic aspiration literary homage Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal writing - public spaces - creative process Key Concepts authenticity irony vulnerability city life Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance irony and sincerity in art? - What does “sinking city” symbolize for personal growth? A Different Perspective Irony may mask true emotions and hinder connection ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-whitman-2386007/) [Grids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grids/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Irony Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony-sincerity-2386006/) [My way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-way/) [Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincerity/) [Sincerity Sinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincerity-sinking-2386004/) [Sinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking/) [Sinking City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-city-521777/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whitman Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whitman-vulnerable-2386005/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [“The experts are right, he thought. 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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. 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I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking city, a would-be Whitman of the vulnerable grid.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Lerner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity-in-the-sinking-city-a-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity-in-the-sinking-city-a-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/ben-lerner-9267_cities_i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity_1845709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ll work my way from irony to sincerity in the sinking city, a would-be Whitman of the vulnerable grid.” — 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’ll work my way from irony...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity-in-the-sinking-city-a-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-ll-work-my-way-from-irony-to-sincerity-in-the-sinking-city-a-would/#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 } } ] } ```