--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have tried to write about politics in…" description: "\"“I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner that draws upon other interests and to approach literature and criticism without ignoring t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg" --- # I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner… ![“I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner that draws upon other interests and to approach literature and criticism without ignoring the political dimension. Even if I have failed in this synthesis, I have found the attempt worth making.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg) > ““I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner that draws upon other interests and to approach literature and criticism without ignoring the political dimension. Even if I have failed in this synthesis, I have found the attempt worth making.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He attempts to blend politics with literature, acknowledging the difficulty but valuing the effort to merge art and political insight. **In simple terms:** Mixing politics with literature is hard but worthwhile. Key Takeaway Seek to integrate political context into literary analysis. Themes politics literature criticism interdisciplinary reflection Mood analytical contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book reviews - academic essays - public lectures - media commentary - personal essays Key Concepts political literature critical theory artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - Can political themes enhance literary appreciation? - When does political analysis overwhelm artistic merit? A Different Perspective Merging can dilute artistic purity or alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [“Before I point out what was wrong with this particular synthesis attempt, see if you notice the problems. OK, here’s what I noticed: There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cheng/before-i-point-out-what-was-wrong-with-this-particular-synthesis/) [Victor Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cheng/) > [Despite your best efforts, you could not invent a better police force for literature than criticism and the author's own conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/despite-your-best-efforts-you-could-not-invent-a-better-police-force/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a sort of political person, and I feel that there's a kind of ineradicably political dimension to theater, to all theater, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-m-a-sort-of-political-person-and-i-feel-that-there-s-a-kind-of/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I am not a propagandist; my work has often had a political dimension but, hopefully, one that is not didactic and is open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-am-not-a-propagandist-my-work-has-often-had-a-political-dimension/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [The fact of picking up an instrument and writing a song and expressing yourself publicly has a powerful political dimension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robbins/the-fact-of-picking-up-an-instrument-and-writing-a-song-and/) [J. Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robbins/) > [“Some forms of Indian asceticism, although not all, have a socio-political dimension and these cannot be marginalized as merely the wish to negate life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romila-thapar/some-forms-of-indian-asceticism-although-not-all-have-a-socio/) [Romila Thapar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romila-thapar/) > [“Politics, after all, is the art of persuasion; the political is that dimension of social life in which tings really do become true if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/politics-after-all-is-the-art-of-persuasion-the-political-is-that/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [You can write about a country without taking a stand, but you cannot write about a country without noting that there's history, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/you-can-write-about-a-country-without-taking-a-stand-but-you-cannot/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I think if you're going to make political art, you have to engage at some level. You can't just write about politics, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-make-political-art-you-have-to-engage-at/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [There are so many people who are so much better qualified to write about politics than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/there-are-so-many-people-who-are-so-much-better-qualified-to-write/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [People will sometimes say, "Why don't you write more politics?" And I have to explain to them that writing the lives of women IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/people-will-sometimes-say-why-don-t-you-write-more-politics-and-i/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [If we tried to write about politics, you'd realize that we're all a bunch of idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hoppus/if-we-tried-to-write-about-politics-you-d-realize-that-we-re-all-a/) [Mark Hoppus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hoppus/) > [And you don't want to always write about politics just for the sake of writing about politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/and-you-don-t-want-to-always-write-about-politics-just-for-the-sake/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [I don't think I will ever write about politics or foreign policy. I feel like there is so much good writing in those areas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/i-don-t-think-i-will-ever-write-about-politics-or-foreign-policy-i/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [There are many roads to journalism. My feeling is that your best bet in college is to study the subjects you will want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/there-are-many-roads-to-journalism-my-feeling-is-that-your-best-bet/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner that draws upon other interests and to approach literature and criticism without ignoring the political dimension. Even if I have failed in this synthesis, I have found the attempt worth making.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in-an-allusive-manner-that-draws/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in-an-allusive-manner-that-draws/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/christopher-hitchens-117_books_i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in_445278.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have tried to write about politics in an allusive manner that draws upon other interests and to approach…” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have tried to write about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in-an-allusive-manner-that-draws/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-tried-to-write-about-politics-in-an-allusive-manner-that-draws/#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 } } ] } ```