--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote Baghdad Central right after…" description: "\"I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great work by Ibrahim al-Koni, who is sort of a master of Arab fiction. In conversations with him I r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/elliott-colla-15941_great-work_i-wrote-baghdad-central-right-after-tran_3156047.jpg" --- # I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great… ![“I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great work by Ibrahim al-Koni, who is sort of a master of Arab fiction. In conversations with him I realized that translations have been my MFA program. If I have learned how to write fiction it's by working with great writers and getting them to…” quote by Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/elliott-colla-15941_great-work_i-wrote-baghdad-central-right-after-tran_3156047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/elliott-colla-15941_great-work_i-wrote-baghdad-central-right-after-tran_3156047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/elliott-colla-15941_great-work_i-wrote-baghdad-central-right-after-tran_3156047.jpg) > “I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great work by Ibrahim al-Koni, who is sort of a master of Arab fiction. In conversations with him I realized that translations have been my MFA program. If I have learned how to write fiction it's by working with great writers and getting them to explain their craft to me so that I can do it in English. That's how I've figured it out.” [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning to write is a collaborative process; studying great writers and their techniques is essential. **In simple terms:** Writing is learned through studying masters. Key Takeaway Study masters to improve writing. Themes learning collaboration craft Mood inquisitive motivational Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative writing programs - self‑study Key Concepts literary theory mentor‑mentee dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Who are your literary mentors? - How can you adapt their methods to your own style? A Different Perspective Reliance on mentors may limit personal voice if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-working-1241236/) [Great work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-work/) [Great writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-writers/) [I have learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-have-learned/) [I realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-realized/) [Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program/) [Translate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translate/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Translations Mfa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations-mfa-5686209/) [Write Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-fiction/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Wrote Baghdad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-baghdad-5686208/) ## Related quotes > [If I have learned how to write fiction it's by working with great writers and getting them to explain their craft to me so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/if-i-have-learned-how-to-write-fiction-it-s-by-working-with-great/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy program at Northwestern in the summer of 2015, in my mid-20s. I kind of had the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-dropped-out-of-my-ph-d-philosophy-program-at-northwestern-in-the/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I guess it was easier for me to find my voice in poetry than it was in fiction. I'm working on fiction again, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hamby/i-guess-it-was-easier-for-me-to-find-my-voice-in-poetry-than-it-was/) [Barbara Hamby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hamby/) > [On a book like 'X-Men,' you have to stay true to the established fiction, working with editors to ensure continuity, sometimes across multiple titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-madureira/on-a-book-like-x-men-you-have-to-stay-true-to-the-established-fiction/) [Joe Madureira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-madureira/) > [Pour e crire ce livre essentiel, le seul livre vrai, un grand e crivain n'a pas, dans le sens courant, a' l'inventer puisqu'il existe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/pour-e-crire-ce-livre-essentiel-le-seul-livre-vrai-un-grand-e-crivain/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I think if I'd gone to an MFA program and learned that, it would have been money well spent. But translation has been that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/i-think-if-i-d-gone-to-an-mfa-program-and-learned-that-it-would-have/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [With Ibrahim al-Koni, what I figured out was - and you'll see this in his novels - if your time is limited, make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/with-ibrahim-al-koni-what-i-figured-out-was-and-you-ll-see-this-in/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Translation is harder, believe it or not. You do have to come up with a story, and actually I'm mystified by that process. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/translation-is-harder-believe-it-or-not-you-do-have-to-come-up-with-a/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [In translation you have to get it right, you have to be precise in what you're doing. You have to attempt what they did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-you-have-to-get-it-right-you-have-to-be-precise-in/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Take Ezra Pound's translations of poetry from Chinese. He doesn't really know Chinese, and the very strange results that he comes up with aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/take-ezra-pound-s-translations-of-poetry-from-chinese-he-doesn-t/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [In translation studies we talk about domestication - translation styles that make something familiar - or estrangement - translation styles that make something radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-studies-we-talk-about-domestication-translation-styles/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [“Write non-fiction like fiction, so the reader is constantly turning the page to find out what happens next, and write fiction like non-fiction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-robinson/write-non-fiction-like-fiction-so-the-reader-is-constantly-turning/) [Jeffrey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-robinson/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More by Elliott Colla > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [There are certainly times in history where power associates itself closely with fields that we would call the humanities, like rulers surrounding themselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/there-are-certainly-times-in-history-where-power-associates-itself/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [A high-ranking Syrian official in DC laughed when he heard I was reading Michel Aflaq and writing this book. He said, "Let me tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/a-high-ranking-syrian-official-in-dc-laughed-when-he-heard-i-was/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Academic writing you have to get right. Fiction you have to get plausible. And there's a world of difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/academic-writing-you-have-to-get-right-fiction-you-have-to-get/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Noir is where the clarity of moral divisions break down, the black and whites turn into grays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/noir-is-where-the-clarity-of-moral-divisions-break-down-the-black-and/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [In translation studies we talk about domestication - translation styles that make something familiar - or estrangement - translation styles that make something radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-studies-we-talk-about-domestication-translation-styles/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [You always have regime-friendly poets like Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, whose career basically spans the twentieth century. He's an anti-imperialist, friendly with the Communists, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/you-always-have-regime-friendly-poets-like-muhammad-mahdi-al-jawahiri/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Take Ezra Pound's translations of poetry from Chinese. He doesn't really know Chinese, and the very strange results that he comes up with aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/take-ezra-pound-s-translations-of-poetry-from-chinese-he-doesn-t/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Arabs don't do crime fiction. I read crime fiction and I read Arabic literature, and I wish this was a novel I could have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/arabs-don-t-do-crime-fiction-i-read-crime-fiction-and-i-read-arabic/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Michel Aflaq - is bad poetry wrapped in the guise of utopian politics, or great poetry wrapped in the guise of horrible politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/michel-aflaq-is-bad-poetry-wrapped-in-the-guise-of-utopian-politics/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Each discipline has the capacity to be interested in politics, and each would ask different questions of what politics is, what constitutes power, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/each-discipline-has-the-capacity-to-be-interested-in-politics-and/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [The more I've reflected on that and asked Iraqi friends, the more I realize that the corruption in Iraq has nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/the-more-i-ve-reflected-on-that-and-asked-iraqi-friends-the-more-i/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Culture is invited to the table usually only as raw material that needs no analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/culture-is-invited-to-the-table-usually-only-as-raw-material-that/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Palestinian society is filled with poetry, but not experimental poetry. The Palestinian poetry that people know is not the modernist experimentations, it's certain kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/palestinian-society-is-filled-with-poetry-but-not-experimental-poetry/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [There's actually a lot of information on a lot of people and that is a major achievement of a police state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/there-s-actually-a-lot-of-information-on-a-lot-of-people-and-that-is/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) [Explore all 41 Elliott Colla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) ## More Great work quotes > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [To fashion stars out of dog dung, that is the Great Work. To take a negative experience and, by comparing it to something worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-david-neel/to-fashion-stars-out-of-dog-dung-that-is-the-great-work-to-take-a/) [Alexandra David-Neel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-david-neel/) > [“Difference makers not only stay engaged until a difference is made, but follow the results of their work…. They insist on knowing what worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sturt/difference-makers-not-only-stay-engaged-until-a-difference-is-made/) [David Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sturt/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [All My Children taught me a great work ethic; you work so hard on a soap opera! It is a good way to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-larue/all-my-children-taught-me-a-great-work-ethic-you-work-so-hard-on-a/) [Eva LaRue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-larue/) > [“It is one thing being disciplined to plan and it is another thing being a disciple of great work. Be your own disciplinarian.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/it-is-one-thing-being-disciplined-to-plan-and-it-is-another-thing/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I want my whole life to be a great work of art, not just my art. And that means paying attention to my entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/i-want-my-whole-life-to-be-a-great-work-of-art-not-just-my-art-and/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [The longer you are in acting business, the more you cherish the times when you're working with people that do great work, and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/the-longer-you-are-in-acting-business-the-more-you-cherish-the-times/) [Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/) > [We're being very good team players here and very happy we've got a great working relationship with Reince Priebus and the RNC. They've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/we-re-being-very-good-team-players-here-and-very-happy-we-ve-got-a/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [I just want to do great work: work that inspires people... To know that you are given this gift in life and that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-blanchard/i-just-want-to-do-great-work-work-that-inspires-people-to-know-that/) [Tammy Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-blanchard/) > [“There is an overflowing grace, for every great work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-an-overflowing-grace-for-every-great-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/every-great-work-every-big-accomplishment-has-been-brought-into/) [Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/) > [Great groups deliver great results. And for everyone involved in a great group, great work is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/great-groups-deliver-great-results-and-for-everyone-involved-in-a/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [What I need to do is have a great positive attitude and a great work ethic. Those two things validate me. Yes, it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-robinson/what-i-need-to-do-is-have-a-great-positive-attitude-and-a-great-work/) [David Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-robinson/) [Browse all 501 Great work quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-work/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great work by Ibrahim al-Koni, who is sort of a master of Arab fiction. In conversations with him I realized that translations have been my MFA program. 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