---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tended to emphasize the secular, the…"
description: "\"I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.\" — David Antin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png"
---

#  I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the…

![“I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.” quote by David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png)

> “I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.”

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He emphasizes everyday language—secular, casual, colloquial, vernacular—over sacred or formal expressions, valuing authenticity.

**In simple terms:** He values everyday speech over formal sacred language.

Key Takeaway

Embrace authentic, everyday expression.

Themes

language authenticity culture communication

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- poetry readings
- teaching
- public speaking

Key Concepts

vernacular secularism artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How does everyday language shape our reality?
- When is sacred language appropriate?

A Different Perspective

The statement may dismiss the richness of sacred or formal language.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Vernacular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vernacular/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm motivated by injustice, which is embedded and constant and wrong - not by a vernacular soundboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-richards/i-m-motivated-by-injustice-which-is-embedded-and-constant-and-wrong/)

[Amy Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-richards/)

> [Diminutive worlds are more likely to be rocky, and lapped by oceans and atmospheres. In the vernacular of 'Star Trek,' these would be M-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/diminutive-worlds-are-more-likely-to-be-rocky-and-lapped-by-oceans/)

[Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/)

> [Oh, this I have to see. I love it when you go for the vernacular. Jugular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/oh-this-i-have-to-see-i-love-it-when-you-go-for-the-vernacular-jugular/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [“I nod seriously, "Supes." "You're mocking me." "A little bit." "People say supes!" "What people?" "I can't believe you're shaming me right now. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-miller/i-nod-seriously-supes-you-re-mocking-me-a-little-bit-people-say-supes/)

[Lauren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-miller/)

> [When I write lyrics, I really do go into an automatic folk appropriation mode... I see the vernacular register of 20th century song as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/when-i-write-lyrics-i-really-do-go-into-an-automatic-folk/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [You will find that the truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fancy and disagreeable fact is unequal. For, in the vernacular,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/you-will-find-that-the-truth-is-often-unpopular-and-the-contest/)

[Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/)

> [The older I got, the more willing I was to go into the Southern vernacular, because some of it's funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jackson/the-older-i-got-the-more-willing-i-was-to-go-into-the-southern/)

[Keith Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jackson/)

> [What's impossible not to notice, though - it's all around us - is the diminution of American prose: How pedestrian it has become. Pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/what-s-impossible-not-to-notice-though-it-s-all-around-us-is-the/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

> [I’m interested in vernacular cultures, where people lived a little closer to the source of materials and the making of objects for use. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-puryear/i-m-interested-in-vernacular-cultures-where-people-lived-a-little/)

[Martin Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-puryear/)

> [I was deeply impressed and moved by his masterful playing. He was highly polished, profound, subtle, and intense. He was extremely fluent in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-la-roca/i-was-deeply-impressed-and-moved-by-his-masterful-playing-he-was/)

Pete La Roca

> [The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-xxiii/the-catholic-church-has-a-dignity-far-surpassing-that-of-every-merely/)

[Pope John XXIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-xxiii/)

> [I'm working on poems about work, I guess. Or related to work. Which sounds dull as drywall but I'm having great fun working the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-mann/i-m-working-on-poems-about-work-i-guess-or-related-to-work-which/)

[Randall Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-mann/)

> [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/)

[Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/)

> [Writers today must navigate the shifting verbal currents of the post-Gutenberg era. When does jargon end and a new vernacular begin? Where's the line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/writers-today-must-navigate-the-shifting-verbal-currents-of-the-post/)

[Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/)

> [The architect who combines in his being the powers of vision, of imagination, of intellect, of sympathy with human need and the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/the-architect-who-combines-in-his-being-the-powers-of-vision-of/)

[Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/)

## More by David Antin

> [A myth is the name of a terrible lie told by a smelly little brown person to a man in a white suit with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/a-myth-is-the-name-of-a-terrible-lie-told-by-a-smelly-little-brown/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories and always began poems by praying to the Muse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/the-ancient-greek-oral-poets-all-had-this-anxiety-about-the/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [My way of thinking is very particular and concrete. It doesn't follow a continuous path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/my-way-of-thinking-is-very-particular-and-concrete-it-doesn-t-follow/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for underlying precision gives me something in common with Allan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/while-i-don-t-script-and-i-don-t-use-other-performers-i-think-my/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [While I've had a great distaste for what's usually called song in modern poetry or for what's usually called music, I really don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/while-i-ve-had-a-great-distaste-for-what-s-usually-called-song-in/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [There is probably no oral society that fails to mark the spatial distinction of left and right, peculiar as this distinction may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/there-is-probably-no-oral-society-that-fails-to-mark-the-spatial/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [I hardly remember how I started to write poetry. It's hard to imagine what I thought poetry could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-hardly-remember-how-i-started-to-write-poetry-it-s-hard-to-imagine/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [I can manage a prose format as long as I keep closer to Laurence Sterne than to Henry James.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-can-manage-a-prose-format-as-long-as-i-keep-closer-to-laurence/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [Disney made a fortune out of inventing the businessman's idea of the imaginary as the contradictory of the businessman's idea of the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/disney-made-a-fortune-out-of-inventing-the-businessman-s-idea-of-the/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [There are editing procedures for talks just as there are editing procedures in jazz improvisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/there-are-editing-procedures-for-talks-just-as-there-are-editing/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that looked like the lyrics for a commonplace melodic setting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/for-several-centuries-what-has-passed-for-song-in-literary-circles/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [Stories are different every time you tell them - they allow so many possible narratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/stories-are-different-every-time-you-tell-them-they-allow-so-many/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [When you grow up in a family of languages, you develop a kind of casual fluency, so that languages, though differently colored, all seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/when-you-grow-up-in-a-family-of-languages-you-develop-a-kind-of/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [I'm not sure what theory is, unless it's the pursuit of fundamental questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-m-not-sure-what-theory-is-unless-it-s-the-pursuit-of-fundamental/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

> [My mother turned into a professional widow. She couldnt understand why I wanted to be an engineer; she thought I should be a chicken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/my-mother-turned-into-a-professional-widow-she-couldnt-understand-why/)

[David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

[Explore all 39 David Antin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/)

## More Casual quotes

> [I love Christopher Bailey and Burberry, Mulberry for bags, and Hudson for jeans. I like a little bit of designer with a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-delevingne/i-love-christopher-bailey-and-burberry-mulberry-for-bags-and-hudson/)

[Cara Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-delevingne/)

> [Life is a right, not collateral or casual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suheir-hammad/life-is-a-right-not-collateral-or-casual/)

[Suheir Hammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suheir-hammad/)

> [“Nothing about sex is casual. In the best situation, sex can create life, but more often it ruins lives. And so, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-jack/nothing-about-sex-is-casual-in-the-best-situation-sex-can-create-life/)

[Genevieve Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-jack/)

> [Donald Trump is a pretty casual guy. He calls me Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/donald-trump-is-a-pretty-casual-guy-he-calls-me-paul/)

[Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/)

> [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [What is meant by reality? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable - now to be found in a dusty road,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-to-be-something-very-erratic/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [I love watches. I have a Hublot, a Breitling, and a Cartier. Different accessories that I match together just to be comfortable and casual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-parsons/i-love-watches-i-have-a-hublot-a-breitling-and-a-cartier-different/)

[Chandler Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandler-parsons/)

> [Every office interprets business casual differently. Feel out your office!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lafleur/every-office-interprets-business-casual-differently-feel-out-your/)

[Sarah Lafleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lafleur/)

> [I spend the majority of my time in the office and I usually wear a casual bandage dress and flip-flops or slippers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huda-kattan/i-spend-the-majority-of-my-time-in-the-office-and-i-usually-wear-a/)

[Huda Kattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huda-kattan/)

> [My days among the dead are passed; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast, The mighty minds of old; My never-failing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/my-days-among-the-dead-are-passed-around-me-i-behold-where-er-these/)

[Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/)

> [The difference with Cleveland is that the racial tension was not a casual taste of it. It was outlandish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/the-difference-with-cleveland-is-that-the-racial-tension-was-not-a/)

[Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/)

> [Daily fervent prayers seeking forgiveness and special help and direction are essential to our lives and the nourishment of our testimonies. When we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-l-staheli/daily-fervent-prayers-seeking-forgiveness-and-special-help-and/)

Donald L. Staheli

> [Even a casual observer can see that not one of the systems, institutions, and devices that our species has put into place on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/even-a-casual-observer-can-see-that-not-one-of-the-systems/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [Have you told Eric and the rest of them that—” “That I’m a vampire? No. It isn’t the sort of thing you just drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/have-you-told-eric-and-the-rest-of-them-that-that-i-m-a-vampire-no-it/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [The difference between the casual impression and the intensified image is about as great as that separating the average business letter from a poem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-callahan/the-difference-between-the-casual-impression-and-the-intensified/)

[Harry Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-callahan/)

Browse all 547 Casual quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Antin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-casual-the-colloquial-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Casual"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-casual-the-colloquial-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/david-antin-16464_casual_i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-ca_1519698.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.” — David Antin",
                "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": "David Antin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I tended to emphasize the secular,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-casual-the-colloquial-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/i-tended-to-emphasize-the-secular-the-casual-the-colloquial-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
