--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To me, the best, if not the only function…" description: "\"“To me, the best, if not the only function of imaginative writing, is to lead the human imagination outward, to take it into the vast external cosmos, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/clark-ashton-smith-33699_creativity_to-me-the-best-if-not-the-only-function_312190.png" --- # To me, the best, if not the only function of imaginative… ![“To me, the best, if not the only function of imaginative writing, is to lead the human imagination outward, to take it into the vast external cosmos, and away from all that introversion and introspection, that morbidly exaggerated prying into one's own vitals—and the vitals of others—which…” quote by Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/clark-ashton-smith-33699_creativity_to-me-the-best-if-not-the-only-function_312190.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/clark-ashton-smith-33699_creativity_to-me-the-best-if-not-the-only-function_312190.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/clark-ashton-smith-33699_creativity_to-me-the-best-if-not-the-only-function_312190.png) > ““To me, the best, if not the only function of imaginative writing, is to lead the human imagination outward, to take it into the vast external cosmos, and away from all that introversion and introspection, that morbidly exaggerated prying into one's own vitals—and the vitals of others—which Robinson Jeffers has so aptly symbolized as "incest." What we need is less "human interest," in the narrow sense of the term—not more. Physiological—and even psychological analysis—can be largely left to the writers of scientific monographs on such themes. Fiction, as I see it, is not the place for that sort of grubbing.”” [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author contends that fiction should expand imagination outward rather than focus on introspective, psychological analysis, which he deems limiting. **In simple terms:** Fiction should inspire outward imagination, not just inner analysis. Key Takeaway Encourage storytelling that explores the external world. Themes creativity literature imagination psychology philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - creative education Key Concepts expansion of consciousness literary purpose creative restraint Questions to Reflect On - Can introspection coexist with outward imagination? - What balance yields richer storytelling? A Different Perspective The view discounts the value of psychological depth in character development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Human imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-imagination/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Imaginative writing has always been a solitary and indeed a somewhat antisocial activity. 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Your lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-clothes-you-re-wearing-the-room-the-house-the-city-that-you-re-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [It's about human imagination and curiosity. What's out there? What's in the great beyond? What exists at levels we can't see with our five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/it-s-about-human-imagination-and-curiosity-what-s-out-there-what-s-in/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. With a force mightier than gravity, it attracts the eye to its shimmering red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble-wilford/mars-tugs-at-the-human-imagination-like-no-other-planet-with-a-force/) John Noble Wilford ## More by Clark Ashton Smith > [In his bleak mercy, Death forever strips The soul of light and memory, rendering blind Our vision, lest surmounted deeps appal, As when on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/in-his-bleak-mercy-death-forever-strips-the-soul-of-light-and-memory/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [“We don’t know whether they’re going to eat us or elect us for their tribal deities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/we-don-t-know-whether-they-re-going-to-eat-us-or-elect-us-for-their/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [“Things have crept in from nether space, whose incursion is forbid by the watchful gods of all proper and well-ordered lands; but there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/things-have-crept-in-from-nether-space-whose-incursion-is-forbid-by/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [Bow down, I am the emperor of dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/bow-down-i-am-the-emperor-of-dreams/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [“Stern and white as a tomb, older than the memory of the dead, and built by men or devils beyond the recording of myth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/stern-and-white-as-a-tomb-older-than-the-memory-of-the-dead-and-built/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [“In one picture, the pool was half hidden by a fringe of mace- weeds, and the dead willow was leaning across it at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/in-one-picture-the-pool-was-half-hidden-by-a-fringe-of-mace-weeds-and/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [Not as the plants and flowers of Earth, growing peacefully beneath a simple sun, were the blossoms of the planet Lophai. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [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/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [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/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To me, the best, if not the only function of imaginative writing, is to lead the human imagination outward, to take it into the vast external cosmos, and away from all that introversion and introspection, that morbidly exaggerated prying into one's own vitals—and the vitals of others—which Robinson Jeffers has so aptly symbolized as \"incest.\" What we need is less \"human interest,\" in the narrow sense of the term—not more. Physiological—and even psychological analysis—can be largely left to the writers of scientific monographs on such themes. 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