--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll be happy if I can gain even the…" description: "\"I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.\" — Elliot Perlman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg" --- # I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside… ![“I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.” quote by Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg) > “I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.” [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) ## 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 hopes to secure even a tiny spot in the U.S. literary imagination **In simple terms:** Seeking modest recognition in American literature Key Takeaway Write authentically to resonate with readers Themes literature recognition ambition Mood hopeful determined Type aspirational inspirational When to use this quote - publishing - marketing - literary festivals - book clubs Key Concepts cultural impact authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - What unique perspective can you offer? - How to expand reach without compromising voice? A Different Perspective Small niche may limit broader influence ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-happy/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain/) [Gain Smallest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain-smallest-1828596/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-readers-1828597/) [Inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inside/) [Inside Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inside-literary-1828598/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-imagination-1828595/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Smallest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallest/) [Smallest Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallest-place-1828599/) ## Related quotes > [When you get inside a literary novel you feel that the author, more often than not, just doesn't know enough about things. They haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-york/when-you-get-inside-a-literary-novel-you-feel-that-the-author-more/) [Peter York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-york/) > [“How ironic, it seemed to me, yet, perhaps, how symbolic, that in our age of rapid mass production and the easy proliferation of consumer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/how-ironic-it-seemed-to-me-yet-perhaps-how-symbolic-that-in-our-age/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Literary imagination is an aesthetic object offered by a writer to a lover of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/literary-imagination-is-an-aesthetic-object-offered-by-a-writer-to-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“To be happy, make others happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-be-happy-make-others-happy/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [I'm not sure the Russians would be happy that their iconic wooly mammoth has North American origins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/i-m-not-sure-the-russians-would-be-happy-that-their-iconic-wooly/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [So it doesn't have to be happy music to be inspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-fleck/so-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-happy-music-to-be-inspiring/) [Bela Fleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-fleck/) > [I would be happy if people just called me an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawazuddin-siddiqui/i-would-be-happy-if-people-just-called-me-an-actor/) [Nawazuddin Siddiqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawazuddin-siddiqui/) > [A message to women in general is be happy with yourself first. Be sure that you take care of yourself and find yourself. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raven-goodwin/a-message-to-women-in-general-is-be-happy-with-yourself-first-be-sure/) [Raven Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raven-goodwin/) > [“Be happy with yourself to encourage others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/be-happy-with-yourself-to-encourage-others/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [If I tell a man he needs to quit his soul-sucking job, he has to go home and fight with his wife or fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/if-i-tell-a-man-he-needs-to-quit-his-soul-sucking-job-he-has-to-go/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It may sound too good to be true, but once you've seen the happiest people in your life who have nothing, you really start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/it-may-sound-too-good-to-be-true-but-once-you-ve-seen-the-happiest/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [I've got so much to be happy about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-got-so-much-to-be-happy-about/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [Nothing has power over you unless you allow it. No matter what happens, you can choose what and how to think, act, and speak!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-power-over-you-unless-you-allow-it-no-matter-what-happens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Obviously you'd always be happy to have another tour on the side, earning extra money, but for most of the players I think we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-trump/obviously-you-d-always-be-happy-to-have-another-tour-on-the-side/) [Judd Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-trump/) > [Come on, if you lose, no one's going to be happy and nor should they be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-spoelstra/come-on-if-you-lose-no-one-s-going-to-be-happy-and-nor-should-they-be/) [Erik Spoelstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-spoelstra/) ## More by Elliot Perlman > [You would love the way he sees you. He uses you as a weapon against himself and not merely because you did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/you-would-love-the-way-he-sees-you-he-uses-you-as-a-weapon-against/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“...Simon and I by then were practicing to be apart, rehearsing together in the same room and often in the same conversation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/simon-and-i-by-then-were-practicing-to-be-apart-rehearsing-together/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“When the words dance privately for you, it is possible to feel not alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/when-the-words-dance-privately-for-you-it-is-possible-to-feel-not/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“Madeline, my wife, never used to wear a watch. She does now, I am told. For a long time, in a very inexact way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/madeline-my-wife-never-used-to-wear-a-watch-she-does-now-i-am-told/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“…anyway it wasn’t your reading that started this. It was the laugher, the carefree laughter, the three dimensional Coca Cola advertisement that you were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/anyway-it-wasn-t-your-reading-that-started-this-it-was-the-laugher/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“While he recognized that you were unhappy and unwell, I think he couldn't help but feel that there was some part of you, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/while-he-recognized-that-you-were-unhappy-and-unwell-i-think-he/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“I asked her where she got her toughness. She pretended she didn't understand. Maybe she didn't at first, or maybe she had forgotten that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-asked-her-where-she-got-her-toughness-she-pretended-she-didn-t/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [“He uses you as a weapon against himself and not merely because you did. He sits in his car at traffic lights on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/he-uses-you-as-a-weapon-against-himself-and-not-merely-because-you/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [At difficult times of my life, books have been an incredible comfort. When I was 12, I changed schools and my parents split up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/at-difficult-times-of-my-life-books-have-been-an-incredible-comfort/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [Why did I start with them? Why do any of us choose one company over another as an employer? The money? At the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/why-did-i-start-with-them-why-do-any-of-us-choose-one-company-over/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [Listen- all that she was then, all that she is now, those gestures, everything I remember but won't or can't articulate anymore, the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/listen-all-that-she-was-then-all-that-she-is-now-those-gestures/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [It's like the smell of burned toast. You made the toast. You looked forward to it. You even enjoyed making it, but it burned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/it-s-like-the-smell-of-burned-toast-you-made-the-toast-you-looked/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [You know you're in love with somebody when you wake up next to them, comfortable despite your breath smelling like the week-old water at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/you-know-you-re-in-love-with-somebody-when-you-wake-up-next-to-them/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [ \[Memory\] visits when it is hungry, not when you are. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/memory-visits-when-it-is-hungry-not-when-you-are/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [I hold him to my chest. My love for him is the only unequivocally good thing I know is always there inside of me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-hold-him-to-my-chest-my-love-for-him-is-the-only-unequivocally-good/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) [Explore all 46 Elliot Perlman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) ## More Be happy quotes > [Come on, if you lose, no one's going to be happy and nor should they be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-spoelstra/come-on-if-you-lose-no-one-s-going-to-be-happy-and-nor-should-they-be/) [Erik Spoelstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-spoelstra/) > [Obviously you'd always be happy to have another tour on the side, earning extra money, but for most of the players I think we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-trump/obviously-you-d-always-be-happy-to-have-another-tour-on-the-side/) [Judd Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-trump/) > [Nothing has power over you unless you allow it. No matter what happens, you can choose what and how to think, act, and speak!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-power-over-you-unless-you-allow-it-no-matter-what-happens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've got so much to be happy about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-got-so-much-to-be-happy-about/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [It may sound too good to be true, but once you've seen the happiest people in your life who have nothing, you really start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/it-may-sound-too-good-to-be-true-but-once-you-ve-seen-the-happiest/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [If I tell a man he needs to quit his soul-sucking job, he has to go home and fight with his wife or fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/if-i-tell-a-man-he-needs-to-quit-his-soul-sucking-job-he-has-to-go/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Be happy with yourself to encourage others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/be-happy-with-yourself-to-encourage-others/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [A message to women in general is be happy with yourself first. Be sure that you take care of yourself and find yourself. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raven-goodwin/a-message-to-women-in-general-is-be-happy-with-yourself-first-be-sure/) [Raven Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raven-goodwin/) > [I would be happy if people just called me an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawazuddin-siddiqui/i-would-be-happy-if-people-just-called-me-an-actor/) [Nawazuddin Siddiqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawazuddin-siddiqui/) > [So it doesn't have to be happy music to be inspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-fleck/so-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-happy-music-to-be-inspiring/) [Bela Fleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-fleck/) > [I'm not sure the Russians would be happy that their iconic wooly mammoth has North American origins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/i-m-not-sure-the-russians-would-be-happy-that-their-iconic-wooly/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [“To be happy, make others happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-be-happy-make-others-happy/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [I've gotten e-mails asking, 'Are you taking students?' Well, come visit and I'll be happy to talk to you. But I'm not a degree-granting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-garrett-lisi/i-ve-gotten-e-mails-asking-are-you-taking-students-well-come-visit/) [Antony Garrett Lisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-garrett-lisi/) > [When I first moved out to Los Angeles I was thinking, you know, I wanted to be an actor but I didn't really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/when-i-first-moved-out-to-los-angeles-i-was-thinking-you-know-i/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) [Browse all 601 Be happy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-happy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elliot Perlman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-smallest-place-inside-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be happy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-smallest-place-inside-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/elliot-perlman-14111_be-happy_i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-sma_966707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'll be happy if I can gain even the smallest place inside the literary imagination of U.S. readers.” — Elliot Perlman", "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": "Elliot Perlman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'll be happy if I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-smallest-place-inside-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-ll-be-happy-if-i-can-gain-even-the-smallest-place-inside-the/#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 } } ] } ```