--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I am really writing about, what I…" description: "\"“What I am really writing about, what I have always written about, is the idea of human freedom, human community, the real world which makes both possi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26d/edward-abbey-254_books_what-i-am-really-writing-about-what-i-ha_1936239.png" --- # What I am really writing about, what I have always written… ![“What I am really writing about, what I have always written about, is the idea of human freedom, human community, the real world which makes both possible, and the new technocratic industrial state which threatens the existence of all three. Life and death, that's my subject, and always has been…” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26d/edward-abbey-254_books_what-i-am-really-writing-about-what-i-ha_1936239.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26d/edward-abbey-254_books_what-i-am-really-writing-about-what-i-ha_1936239.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26d/edward-abbey-254_books_what-i-am-really-writing-about-what-i-ha_1936239.png) > ““What I am really writing about, what I have always written about, is the idea of human freedom, human community, the real world which makes both possible, and the new technocratic industrial state which threatens the existence of all three. Life and death, that's my subject, and always has been - if the reader will look beyond the assumptions of lazy critics and actually read what I have written. Which also means, quite often, reading between the lines: I am a comic writer and the generation of laughter is my aim.”” [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. He explores freedom, community, reality, and threats of technocratic industrialism, using humor to critique society **In simple terms:** Freedom, community, reality vs. industrial state, humor as critique Key Takeaway Use humor to reveal societal flaws Themes freedom community technology humor critique Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - discussing societal structures - reading between lines - comic writing as activism Key Concepts Political philosophy social satire industrial critique Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect perception of serious topics? - Can satire drive real change? A Different Perspective Humor may mask seriousness of issues ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Human freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-freedom/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Reading Between The Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-between-the-lines/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Doctor Parcival began to plead with George Willard. 'You must pay attention to me,' he urged. 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I have one and can recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mcdonald/the-most-important-thing-as-a-comic-and-a-writer-is-to-have-a-strong/) [Heather McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mcdonald/) > [It's a lucky kink for comedy writers that particular English obsession and interest with class and social difference. It maybe is not good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/it-s-a-lucky-kink-for-comedy-writers-that-particular-english/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [I consider myself to be first and foremost a comic writer. The way I entertain myself - especially in those long and grim hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-consider-myself-to-be-first-and-foremost-a-comic-writer-the-way-i/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I read tons of comic books. 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He thought he was a comic writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/kafka-is-still-unrecognized-he-thought-he-was-a-comic-writer/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I am a comic writer, which means I get to slay the dragons, and shoot the bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/i-am-a-comic-writer-which-means-i-get-to-slay-the-dragons-and-shoot/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [I drew the same things that most boys drew - airplanes and cars and fire engines. Then later on I discovered comic books, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-norman/i-drew-the-same-things-that-most-boys-drew-airplanes-and-cars-and/) [Floyd Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-norman/) > [I'm a comic writer, in some ways, and a comic person when I'm up at a podium, in order to disguise the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/i-m-a-comic-writer-in-some-ways-and-a-comic-person-when-i-m-up-at-a/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [When I first began to write fiction, I didn't think I was a comic writer; I thought I was a serious writer. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/when-i-first-began-to-write-fiction-i-didn-t-think-i-was-a-comic/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [That's the great test: if you're going to be a great comic writer, not a humorist, you've got to take it into the throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/that-s-the-great-test-if-you-re-going-to-be-a-great-comic-writer-not/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [There has never yet been a human society worthy of the name of civilization. Civilization remains a remote ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-has-never-yet-been-a-human-society-worthy-of-the-name-of/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## 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 Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I am really writing about, what I have always written about, is the idea of human freedom, human community, the real world which makes both possible, and the new technocratic industrial state which threatens the existence of all three. Life and death, that's my subject, and always has been - if the reader will look beyond the assumptions of lazy critics and actually read what I have written. 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