--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In college, I started to get soaked in…" description: "\"In college, I started to get soaked in the materials. Subsequently, I worked with R.W.B. Lewis, Robert Penn Warren, and Cleanth Brooks on a history of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/david-milch-11169_american_in-college-i-started-to-get-soaked-in-th_1546063.png" --- # In college, I started to get soaked in the materials… ![“In college, I started to get soaked in the materials. Subsequently, I worked with R.W.B. Lewis, Robert Penn Warren, and Cleanth Brooks on a history of American literature - I did that for seven or eight years. In the course of that work, my interest in Faulkner deepened and has been sustained ever…” quote by David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/david-milch-11169_american_in-college-i-started-to-get-soaked-in-th_1546063.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/david-milch-11169_american_in-college-i-started-to-get-soaked-in-th_1546063.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/david-milch-11169_american_in-college-i-started-to-get-soaked-in-th_1546063.png) > “In college, I started to get soaked in the materials. Subsequently, I worked with R.W.B. Lewis, Robert Penn Warren, and Cleanth Brooks on a history of American literature - I did that for seven or eight years. In the course of that work, my interest in Faulkner deepened and has been sustained ever since.” [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. His deep immersion in literary study and collaboration with prominent scholars shaped a lasting fascination with Faulkner's work. **In simple terms:** Intensive study and mentorship deepened his interest in Faulkner. Key Takeaway Seek mentorship and deep study to sustain scholarly passion. Themes education mentorship literature Mood introspective academic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - university seminars - research projects - literary criticism Key Concepts scholarly collaboration American literary history authorial influence Questions to Reflect On - How has mentorship shaped your career? - What other authors could broaden your perspective? A Different Perspective Academic focus can become narrow, limiting broader creative pursuits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner/) [Faulkner Deepened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner-deepened-5768758/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-did-2149147/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-faulkner-5768759/) ## Related quotes > [I did not begin writing for love of literature. I did so for love of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/i-did-not-begin-writing-for-love-of-literature-i-did-so-for-love-of/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Faulkner wrote for film, and his ear is just impeccable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/faulkner-wrote-for-film-and-his-ear-is-just-impeccable/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Faulkner speaks to us on the questions of race, the challenges of modernity, and modern man's dilemma in all of its aspects. That he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/faulkner-speaks-to-us-on-the-questions-of-race-the-challenges-of/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“The only thing that matters, as Faulkner once put it, is the human heart in conflict with itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-only-thing-that-matters-as-faulkner-once-put-it-is-the-human/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I was writing novels in high school and apprenticed myself in a way both to Faulkner and to Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-writing-novels-in-high-school-and-apprenticed-myself-in-a-way/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't want to turn 50 and say, 'Gosh, I wish I'd lived in that part of the world for a time. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/i-don-t-want-to-turn-50-and-say-gosh-i-wish-i-d-lived-in-that-part-of/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) ## More by David Milch > [What constitutes - where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? It's, you know, science now suggests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/what-constitutes-where-are-we-when-we-sleep-what-is-our-sense-of/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [When I was a kid, my dad used to take me out to the race track, and so many formative experiences have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/when-i-was-a-kid-my-dad-used-to-take-me-out-to-the-race-track-and-so/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [There is not an amount of money that a writer can earn that I can't blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/there-is-not-an-amount-of-money-that-a-writer-can-earn-that-i-can-t/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [When I was growing up, it was not the heyday of the western.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/when-i-was-growing-up-it-was-not-the-heyday-of-the-western/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [And if God were trying to reach out to us, and teach us something about the deepest nature of matter, he might use some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/and-if-god-were-trying-to-reach-out-to-us-and-teach-us-something/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [I am kind of an undecipherable commodity to a lot of people, including myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/i-am-kind-of-an-undecipherable-commodity-to-a-lot-of-people-including/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [What cops are hired to do is to control people who will not abide by the social contract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/what-cops-are-hired-to-do-is-to-control-people-who-will-not-abide-by/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [With 'Nostromo', Joseph Conrad said that he had wanted to write a novel about the degradation of an idea. That's what we wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/with-nostromo-joseph-conrad-said-that-he-had-wanted-to-write-a-novel/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Apes beat their chests so they don't have to fight 24 hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/apes-beat-their-chests-so-they-don-t-have-to-fight-24-hours-a-day/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Even having all the time in the world, it's better to collaborate with your brothers and sisters. It's ultimately the richest experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/even-having-all-the-time-in-the-world-it-s-better-to-collaborate-with/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [The truth is I try to show up each day available to do the work that God or whatever it is that's making, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/the-truth-is-i-try-to-show-up-each-day-available-to-do-the-work-that/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Faulkner speaks to us on the questions of race, the challenges of modernity, and modern man's dilemma in all of its aspects. That he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/faulkner-speaks-to-us-on-the-questions-of-race-the-challenges-of/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [I had proposed to HBO a series about the city cops in Rome at the time of Nero. What had interested me was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/i-had-proposed-to-hbo-a-series-about-the-city-cops-in-rome-at-the/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Never believe anything you think about yourself as a writer when you're not writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/never-believe-anything-you-think-about-yourself-as-a-writer-when-you/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [I've been beaten. I know what that's like. They say, 'Who has been a nail can learn to be a hammer.' So I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/i-ve-been-beaten-i-know-what-that-s-like-they-say-who-has-been-a-nail/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) [Explore all 61 David Milch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) ## 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. 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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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In college, I started to get soaked in the materials. Subsequently, I worked with R.W.B. Lewis, Robert Penn Warren, and Cleanth Brooks on a history of American literature - I did that for seven or eight years. 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