--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An American is a complex of occasions…" description: "\"An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a geometry of spatial nature.\" — Charles Olson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg" --- # An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a… ![“An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a geometry of spatial nature.” quote by Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg) > “An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a geometry of spatial nature.” [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests identity is built from many moments, each shaped by space and experience. **In simple terms:** Identity is many moments and spaces. Key Takeaway Embrace each experience as part of you. Themes identity experience space self complexity Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - creative writing - urban planning - psychology - memory Key Concepts phenomenology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do specific moments define you? - Can space shape identity? A Different Perspective It may overlook the continuity of self across time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Geometry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geometry/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) ## Related quotes > [If you're sitting across the table from someone, the geometry of the situation says 'confrontation.' If you're walking with somebody, you're heading in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kim/if-you-re-sitting-across-the-table-from-someone-the-geometry-of-the/) Scott Kim > [...to characterize the import of pure geometry, we might use the standard form of a movie-disclaimer: No portrayal of the characteristics of geometrical figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-gustav-hempel/to-characterize-the-import-of-pure-geometry-we-might-use-the-standard/) [Carl Gustav Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-gustav-hempel/) > [The new painters do not propose, any more than did their predecessors, to be geometers. But it may be said that geometry is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/the-new-painters-do-not-propose-any-more-than-did-their-predecessors/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [Indeed, linear extrapolations make no large-scale sense in a universe that has spatial and temporal curvature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/indeed-linear-extrapolations-make-no-large-scale-sense-in-a-universe/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Much of the geographical work of the past hundred years... has either explicitly or implicitly taken its inspiration from biology, and in particular Darwin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stoddart/much-of-the-geographical-work-of-the-past-hundred-years-has-either/) David Stoddart > [Spatial working memory is impaired by stress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-davidson/spatial-working-memory-is-impaired-by-stress/) [Richard Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-davidson/) > [The theory has to be interpreted that extra dimensions beyond the ordinary four dimensions the three spatial dimensions plus time are sufficiently small that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/the-theory-has-to-be-interpreted-that-extra-dimensions-beyond-the/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [There is, in short, no 'spatial fix' that can contain the contradictions of capitalism in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/there-is-in-short-no-spatial-fix-that-can-contain-the-contradictions/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [I get everything that satisfies my soul from bringing together objects that are in the world, manipulating them, working with spatial arrangements, and having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/i-get-everything-that-satisfies-my-soul-from-bringing-together/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [In a script, you have to link various episodes together, you have to generate suspense and you have to assemble things - through editing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/in-a-script-you-have-to-link-various-episodes-together-you-have-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Just think of the opportunities we can unlock by making education as addictive as a video game. This type of experiential, addictive learning improves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/just-think-of-the-opportunities-we-can-unlock-by-making-education-as/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [I believe that the brain has evolved over millions of years to be responsive to different kinds of content in the world. Language content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/i-believe-that-the-brain-has-evolved-over-millions-of-years-to-be/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [The ways in which acquired savants show up are usually the same ways that congenital, or non-acquired, savant syndrome shows up. They tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/the-ways-in-which-acquired-savants-show-up-are-usually-the-same-ways/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More by Charles Olson > [“this is the abstract, this is the cold doing, this is the almost impossible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/this-is-the-abstract-this-is-the-cold-doing-this-is-the-almost/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [There are no hierarchies, no infinite, no such many as mass, there are only/ eyes in all heads,/ to be looked out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/there-are-no-hierarchies-no-infinite-no-such-many-as-mass-there-are/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [Forgive me if I sleep until I wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/forgive-me-if-i-sleep-until-i-wake-up/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [by night only crazy things like the full moon and the whippoorwill and us, are busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/by-night-only-crazy-things-like-the-full-moon-and-the-whippoorwill/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [“Objectivism is the getting rid of the lyrical interference of the individual as ego, of the “subject” and his soul, that peculiar presumption by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/objectivism-is-the-getting-rid-of-the-lyrical-interference-of-the/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [I defer to all these other American poets who, for some reason, I both envy and admire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-defer-to-all-these-other-american-poets-who-for-some-reason-i-both/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [I was playing catch with the European audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-was-playing-catch-with-the-european-audience/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [“If he stays inside himself, if he is contained within his nature as he is participant in the larger force, he will be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/if-he-stays-inside-himself-if-he-is-contained-within-his-nature-as-he/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [This morning of the small snow I count the blessings, the leak in the faucet which makes of the sink time, the drop of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/this-morning-of-the-small-snow-i-count-the-blessings-the-leak-in-the/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [bees dig the plum blossoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/bees-dig-the-plum-blossoms/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [I'm one of the cliches that has grown up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-m-one-of-the-cliches-that-has-grown-up/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [The body whips the soul. In its great desire it demands the elixir In the roar of spring, transmutations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/the-body-whips-the-soul-in-its-great-desire-it-demands-the-elixir-in/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [“the soul is / proprioceptive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/the-soul-is-proprioceptive/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [You can do anything, really. And that, l think, is one of the exciting possibilities of the present, l swear, is the possibility that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/you-can-do-anything-really-and-that-l-think-is-one-of-the-exciting/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) [Explore all 58 Charles Olson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a geometry of spatial nature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Olson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-themselves-a-geometry-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-themselves-a-geometry-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/charles-olson-11645_american_an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-th_3171215.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An American is a complex of occasions, themselves a geometry of spatial nature.” — Charles Olson", "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": "Charles Olson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An American is a complex of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-themselves-a-geometry-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/an-american-is-a-complex-of-occasions-themselves-a-geometry-of/#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 } } ] } ```