--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the one hand, I have wanted to supply…" description: "\"On the one hand, I have wanted to supply documentation on myself by including material relevant to my emotions and ideas in my youth; and, on the other..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/edmund-wilson-14512_advice_on-the-one-hand-i-have-wanted-to-supply_594325.jpg" --- # On the one hand, I have wanted to supply documentation on… ![“On the one hand, I have wanted to supply documentation on myself by including material relevant to my emotions and ideas in my youth; and, on the other, not to let myself down by publishing inferior material. My poetry comes under the latter head. My only advice to the reader is to skip any verse…” quote by Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/edmund-wilson-14512_advice_on-the-one-hand-i-have-wanted-to-supply_594325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/edmund-wilson-14512_advice_on-the-one-hand-i-have-wanted-to-supply_594325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/edmund-wilson-14512_advice_on-the-one-hand-i-have-wanted-to-supply_594325.jpg) > “On the one hand, I have wanted to supply documentation on myself by including material relevant to my emotions and ideas in my youth; and, on the other, not to let myself down by publishing inferior material. My poetry comes under the latter head. My only advice to the reader is to skip any verse that he sees coming.” [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) ## 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 balances desire to share personal early thoughts with fear of exposing subpar work, urging readers to ignore predictable verses. **In simple terms:** He wants to share youth ideas but worries about quality, suggesting skipping obvious poems. Key Takeaway Share authentic work, but be selective about quality. Themes self‑expression authenticity quality control literary criticism Mood reflective cautious introspective Type advice literary criticism When to use this quote - publishing early drafts - personal memoirs - literary anthologies - creative workshops Key Concepts ego creative insecurity editorial judgment Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which personal works merit publication? - What criteria define “inferior” material? A Different Perspective The tension may limit openness, as fear of criticism can suppress valuable insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishing/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Everything is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity. 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Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [Once you realize that documentation should be laughed at, peed upon, put on fire, and just ridiculed in general, then, and only then, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/once-you-realize-that-documentation-should-be-laughed-at-peed-upon/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) ## More by Edmund Wilson > [I think with my right hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/i-think-with-my-right-hand/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“...an acquaintance with the great works of art and thought is the only real insurance against the barbarism of the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/an-acquaintance-with-the-great-works-of-art-and-thought-is-the-only/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [Real genius of moral insight is a motor which will start any engine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/real-genius-of-moral-insight-is-a-motor-which-will-start-any-engine/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [Old-fogyism is comfortably closing in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/old-fogyism-is-comfortably-closing-in/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“She was one of those women whose features are not perfect and who in their moments of dimness may not seem even pretty, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/she-was-one-of-those-women-whose-features-are-not-perfect-and-who-in/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“It is a proof of the divergence of the tendencies of the socialist and the bourgeois pictures of history—and from now on there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/it-is-a-proof-of-the-divergence-of-the-tendencies-of-the-socialist/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [No two people read the same book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/no-two-people-read-the-same-book/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [The Jew lends himself easily to Communism because it enables him to devote himself to a high cause, involving all of humanity, characteristics which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/the-jew-lends-himself-easily-to-communism-because-it-enables-him-to/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“The cruelest thing that has happened to Lincoln since being shot by Booth was to have fallen into the hands of Carl Sandburg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/the-cruelest-thing-that-has-happened-to-lincoln-since-being-shot-by/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“No two persons ever read the same book. -Edmund Wilson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/no-two-persons-ever-read-the-same-book-edmund-wilson/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [The human imagination has already come to conceive the possibility of recreating human society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/the-human-imagination-has-already-come-to-conceive-the-possibility-of/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [No two persons ever read the same book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/no-two-persons-ever-read-the-same-book/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“No two person, ever read the same book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/no-two-person-ever-read-the-same-book/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [“Dan, who was writing a book on the radical activity of the twenties and thirties, took the occasion of our trip to ask me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/dan-who-was-writing-a-book-on-the-radical-activity-of-the-twenties/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [If I could only remember that the days were not bricks to be laid row on row, to be built into a solid house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/if-i-could-only-remember-that-the-days-were-not-bricks-to-be-laid-row/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) [Explore all 46 Edmund Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) Mak\_786 > [I ask for tips, for advice. 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I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-best-way-to-succeed-in-this-world-is-to-act-on-the-advice-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Time is priceless. You have it, but you don't own it. You spend it, but you can't keep it. And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aprilynne-pike/if-your-clothes-are-enough-to-drive-would-be-friends-away-they-re-not/) [Aprilynne Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aprilynne-pike/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. 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