--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With literary biographies, you're either…" description: "\"With literary biographies, you're either shelved with other biographies or next to your subject's fiction.\" — Blake Bailey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png" --- # With literary biographies, you're either shelved with… ![“With literary biographies, you're either shelved with other biographies or next to your subject's fiction.” quote by Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png) > “With literary biographies, you're either shelved with other biographies or next to your subject's fiction.” [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biographies either align with other biographies or sit beside the subject’s fiction, highlighting genre tension. **In simple terms:** Biographies sit between factual and fictional narratives. Key Takeaway Consider how to blend fact and story. Themes genre literature identity Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical literary When to use this quote - publishing - author studies - creative nonfiction - academic research Key Concepts narrative theory biography Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate fact from fiction? - What role should imagination play in biography? A Different Perspective Readers may struggle with factual accuracy versus artistic license. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) [Biographies Shelved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies-shelved-2646096/) [Biographies Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies-subject-2646098/) [Either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/either/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-biographies-359015/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Shelved Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelved-biographies-2646097/) [Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject/) [Subject Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-fiction-2242973/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [I write literary biographies, so above all, I have to love the subject's books. But choosing a subject is tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-write-literary-biographies-so-above-all-i-have-to-love-the-subject/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [There’s only one subject for fiction or poetry or even a joke: how it is. In all the arts, the payoff is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/there-s-only-one-subject-for-fiction-or-poetry-or-even-a-joke-how-it/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [I have found, in short, from reading my own writing, that my subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory largely held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-have-found-in-short-from-reading-my-own-writing-that-my-subject-in-2/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Novels shouldn’t aspire to answer questions, and I wouldn’t presume to offer advice about love or marriage in any case. What’s fascinating to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-freudenberger/novels-shouldn-t-aspire-to-answer-questions-and-i-wouldn-t-presume-to/) [Nell Freudenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-freudenberger/) > [I have found, in short, from reading my own writing, that my subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory largely held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-have-found-in-short-from-reading-my-own-writing-that-my-subject-in/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [The primary subject of fiction is and has always been human emotion, values, and beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-primary-subject-of-fiction-is-and-has-always-been-human-emotion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [I hope any poem I've ever written could stand on its own and not need to be a part of biography, critical theory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-hope-any-poem-i-ve-ever-written-could-stand-on-its-own-and-not-need/) [Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) ## More by Blake Bailey > [“Fitzgerald's work was almost entirely out of print when 'The Lost Weekend' was published in 1944—even 'Gatsby' seemed well on its way to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/fitzgerald-s-work-was-almost-entirely-out-of-print-when-the-lost/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [I myself am consummately middle class. We grew up in upper-middle-class suburbs in Oklahoma City, and thats very much the same ethos as what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-myself-am-consummately-middle-class-we-grew-up-in-upper-middle/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [The funniest novel you've never read. . . . Afternoon Men is a revelation to sophisticated readers of every stripe, but especially to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/the-funniest-novel-you-ve-never-read-afternoon-men-is-a-revelation-to/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [I'm a huge fan of 'The Lost Weekend.' I have this dog-eared copy of the 1963 Time Reading Program edition, which was a series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-the-lost-weekend-i-have-this-dog-eared-copy-of-the/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“Largely to spare his feelings, she’d spoken in rather vague terms about wanting to “find herself,” and Yates concluded that she’d become a “womens’-libbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/largely-to-spare-his-feelings-she-d-spoken-in-rather-vague-terms/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“Repeatedly Yates went berserk—raging over grievances old and new, hurling furniture at phantoms out of his past. The nurses who lived upstairs complained about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/repeatedly-yates-went-berserk-raging-over-grievances-old-and-new/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [My father was a golden boy from a very small town. He won a very prestigious law scholarship to NYU Law School, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/my-father-was-a-golden-boy-from-a-very-small-town-he-won-a-very/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“As Monica Yates pointed out, “Dad didn’t notice other people. He picked up on asshole people, he could figure people out in general, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/as-monica-yates-pointed-out-dad-didn-t-notice-other-people-he-picked/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“ The Lost Weekend was the only book, out of five books, that I wrote sober, without stimulus or sedative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/the-lost-weekend-was-the-only-book-out-of-five-books-that-i-wrote/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [If possible, be funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/if-possible-be-funny/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [I keep three framed photographs on my desk: the latest school picture of my daughter; a photo of my wife getting her diploma from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-keep-three-framed-photographs-on-my-desk-the-latest-school-picture/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“But what ultimately made Yates the scourge of copy editors was his simple aversion to criticism; any emendation in his manuscript, be it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/but-what-ultimately-made-yates-the-scourge-of-copy-editors-was-his/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“One of the more curious paradoxes of Yates’s nature was his almost archaic courtliness toward women on the one hand, and his lifelong tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/one-of-the-more-curious-paradoxes-of-yates-s-nature-was-his-almost/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“Not only had Yates continued to grow as a writer in terms of craft, but also philosophically, salvaging from the ruins of his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/not-only-had-yates-continued-to-grow-as-a-writer-in-terms-of-craft/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [I'm not an academic; I'm just a bookish Joe who gets passionate about certain writers and suddenly wants to read everything they've ever written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-m-not-an-academic-i-m-just-a-bookish-joe-who-gets-passionate-about/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) [Explore all 27 Blake Bailey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) ## More Biographies quotes > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [I hope any poem I've ever written could stand on its own and not need to be a part of biography, critical theory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-hope-any-poem-i-ve-ever-written-could-stand-on-its-own-and-not-need/) [Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I don't want to say that most rock bands live these formulaic biography existences - but they kinda do. There's always a divorce. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-most-rock-bands-live-these-formulaic/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/) [Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Browse all 587 Biographies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With literary biographies, you're either shelved with other biographies or next to your subject's fiction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blake Bailey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/with-literary-biographies-you-re-either-shelved-with-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biographies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/with-literary-biographies-you-re-either-shelved-with-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/blake-bailey-22734_biographies_with-literary-biographies-you-re-either_2689528.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With literary biographies, you're either shelved with other biographies or next to your subject's fiction.” — Blake Bailey", "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": "Blake Bailey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With literary biographies, you're either shelved...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/with-literary-biographies-you-re-either-shelved-with-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/with-literary-biographies-you-re-either-shelved-with-other/#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 } } ] } ```