--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want a nonfiction that explores our…" description: "\"I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the world.\" — David Shields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg" --- # I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable… ![“I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the world.” quote by David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg) > “I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the world.” [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## 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 calls for a nonfiction work that captures the fluid, fragmented, and fleeting nature of human experience within the world. **In simple terms:** Seek a nonfiction that reflects life's shifting, fleeting nature. Key Takeaway Explore complex, changing realities. Themes transience perception reality human experience Mood reflective introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal memoir - cultural analysis - philosophical essays - travel writing Key Concepts postmodernism phenomenology narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How can a writer convey fleeting experiences concretely? - What structures best capture multiform reality? A Different Perspective May be too abstract for mainstream readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I'm interested in writing that explores all sides of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-m-interested-in-writing-that-explores-all-sides-of-human-beings/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [Nonfiction, qua label, is nothing more or less than a very flexible (easily breakable) frame that allows you to pull the thing away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/nonfiction-qua-label-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-very-flexible/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [To me, the moment you're talking about nonfiction you're talking about reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/to-me-the-moment-you-re-talking-about-nonfiction-you-re-talking-about/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I've never been interested in pure movement or pure stability, but in the unstable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/i-ve-never-been-interested-in-pure-movement-or-pure-stability-but-in/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it's there, the next day it may not be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/happiness-that-depends-mainly-on-physical-pleasure-is-unstable-one/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I grew up in an unstable environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-morgan/i-grew-up-in-an-unstable-environment/) [Liv Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-morgan/) > [Gold is not less but more rational than paper money. Money holds value so long as it is in limited supply; gold will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-rees/gold-is-not-less-but-more-rational-than-paper-money-money-holds-value/) [William E. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-rees/) > [The specific disease doctrine is the grand refuge of weak, uncultured, unstable minds, such as now rule in the medical profession. There are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/the-specific-disease-doctrine-is-the-grand-refuge-of-weak-uncultured/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [It is the greenback which is unstable, and not bullion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-pick/it-is-the-greenback-which-is-unstable-and-not-bullion/) Franz Pick > [“The difference between President Trump and Steven Magee? Steven Magee publicly acknowledges his mental illnesses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-difference-between-president-trump-and-steven-magee-steven-magee/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Happiness that you obtain from others is very unstable. If you cannot capture it yourself no one else will come and grab it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-street/happiness-that-you-obtain-from-others-is-very-unstable-if-you-cannot/) Cat Street > [It's a scary endeavor to pursue acting because so much of it is unstable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ego-nwodim/it-s-a-scary-endeavor-to-pursue-acting-because-so-much-of-it-is/) [Ego Nwodim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ego-nwodim/) > [The Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/the-holy-ghost-is-the-greatest-guarantor-of-inward-peace-in-our/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) ## More by David Shields > [To be honest, there are parts of 'How Literature Saved My Life' that began as interviews. Someone was telling me that they think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/to-be-honest-there-are-parts-of-how-literature-saved-my-life-that/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I'm very drawn to the way in which a life lived can be an art of sorts or a failed art, and a life-lived-told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-m-very-drawn-to-the-way-in-which-a-life-lived-can-be-an-art-of/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [People like Ian McEwan and Jonathan Franzen completely bore me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/people-like-ian-mcewan-and-jonathan-franzen-completely-bore-me/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [You're one of 6.5 billion people now on the planet, and 99.9 percent of your genes are the same as everyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/you-re-one-of-6-5-billion-people-now-on-the-planet-and-99-9-percent/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [We're completely confused about the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. To me, the moment you compose, you're fictionalising; the moment you remember, you're dreaming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/we-re-completely-confused-about-the-boundaries-between-fiction-and/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Your art is most alive and dangerous when you use it against yourself. That's why I pick at my scabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/your-art-is-most-alive-and-dangerous-when-you-use-it-against-yourself/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/everything-i-write-i-believe-instinctively-is-to-some-extent-collage/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Swimming is by far the best tonic I've found for my back. I'm not a good swimmer - I do the breaststroke or elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/swimming-is-by-far-the-best-tonic-i-ve-found-for-my-back-i-m-not-a/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-ve-always-liked-this-idea-that-writing-should-comfort-the-afflicted/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-beauty-of-reality-based-art-art-underwritten-by-reality-hunger-is/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“A great book allows me to leap over that wall: in a deep, significant conversation with another consciousness, I feel human and unalone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/a-great-book-allows-me-to-leap-over-that-wall-in-a-deep-significant/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-novel-is-dead-long-live-the-antinovel-built-from-scraps/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I am exhausted by traditional memoir. I am exhausted by the architecture of the conventional novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-am-exhausted-by-traditional-memoir-i-am-exhausted-by-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I couldn't tell a story if my life depended on it. I'm the world's worst joke-teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-couldn-t-tell-a-story-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-m-the-world-s/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-absence-of-plot-leaves-the-reader-room-to-think-about-other-things/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) [Explore all 77 David Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## More Experience quotes > [Experience makes a lesson to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-makes-a-lesson-to-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Iranians hate Arabs. They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) Michael Bugeja > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [Experience is a thorough teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jane-holmes/experience-is-a-thorough-teacher/) [Mary Jane Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jane-holmes/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I've had a great experience with pretty much everybody I've worked with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-ve-had-a-great-experience-with-pretty-much-everybody-i-ve-worked/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [It wasn't a mistake, it was a fun learning experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-wasn-t-a-mistake-it-was-a-fun-learning-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) [Browse all 11,792 Experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Shields" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-shifting-unstable-multiform/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-shifting-unstable-multiform/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/david-shields-8815_experience_i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-sh_913762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the…” — David Shields", "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 Shields", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I want a nonfiction that explores...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-shifting-unstable-multiform/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-want-a-nonfiction-that-explores-our-shifting-unstable-multiform/#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 } } ] } ```