--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not the writer's task to answer…" description: "\"It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to question answers. To be impertinent, insolent, and, if necessary, subversive.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/edward-abbey-254_answers_it-is-not-the-writer-s-task-to-answer-qu_819982.png" --- # It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to… ![“It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to question answers. To be impertinent, insolent, and, if necessary, subversive.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/edward-abbey-254_answers_it-is-not-the-writer-s-task-to-answer-qu_819982.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/edward-abbey-254_answers_it-is-not-the-writer-s-task-to-answer-qu_819982.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/edward-abbey-254_answers_it-is-not-the-writer-s-task-to-answer-qu_819982.png) > “It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to question answers. To be impertinent, insolent, and, if necessary, subversive.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages challenging established answers and being provocatively critical to spark deeper insight. **In simple terms:** Question answers, be provocative. Key Takeaway Be bold, question norms. Themes critical thinking provocation intellectual rebellion Mood defiant inquisitive Type philosophical provocative When to use this quote - academic debate - creative writing - political activism Key Concepts philosophy subversion skepticism Questions to Reflect On - How can you question without dismissing? - When is subversion constructive? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating others if too confrontational. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Answers Impertinent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers-impertinent-464915/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impertinent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impertinent-300275/) [Impertinent Insolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impertinent-insolent-464916/) [Insolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insolent/) [Insolent Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insolent-necessary-464917/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Necessary Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-subversive-464918/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am shocking, impertinent and insolent that's how it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-bardot/i-am-shocking-impertinent-and-insolent-that-s-how-it-is/) [Brigitte Bardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-bardot/) > [One must not make oneself cheap here - that is a cardinal point - or else one is done. Whoever is most impertinent has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/one-must-not-make-oneself-cheap-here-that-is-a-cardinal-point-or-else/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [“Hardly out of mortal danger and already he gets impertinent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelika-rust/hardly-out-of-mortal-danger-and-already-he-gets-impertinent/) [Angelika Rust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelika-rust/) > [... it's vastly more irksome to give up one's own way, than to hear a few impertinent remarks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/it-s-vastly-more-irksome-to-give-up-one-s-own-way-than-to-hear-a-few/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/whoever-is-most-impertinent-has-the-best-chance/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [One must not make oneself cheap herethat is a cardinalpointor else one is done. Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/one-must-not-make-oneself-cheap-herethat-is-a-cardinalpointor-else/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [Ask an impertinent question and you are on the way to the pertinent answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/ask-an-impertinent-question-and-you-are-on-the-way-to-the-pertinent/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a pertinent answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/that-is-the-essence-of-science-ask-an-impertinent-question-and-you/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [prayer must be, in its own nature, absurd and impertinent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-collyer/prayer-must-be-in-its-own-nature-absurd-and-impertinent/) [Mary Collyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-collyer/) > [Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mere-bashfulness-without-merit-is-awkward-and-merit-without-modesty/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [MARVEL IS A CORNUCOPIA OF FANTASY, A WILD IDEA , A SWASHBUCKLING ATTITUDE , AN ESCAPE FROM THE HUMDRUM AND PROSAIC. IT'S A SERENDIPITOUS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/marvel-is-a-cornucopia-of-fantasy-a-wild-idea-a-swashbuckling/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be; because he shows you, by his manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/the-insolent-civility-of-a-proud-man-is-if-possible-more-shocking/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If men are given food, but no chastisement nor any work, they become insolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-men-are-given-food-but-no-chastisement-nor-any-work-they-become/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-building-is-akin-to-dogma-it-is-insolent-like-dogma-whether-or-no/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) [Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to question answers. 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