--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have learned as much about writing…" description: "\"I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.\" — Ernest Gaines" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg" --- # I have learned as much about writing about my people by… ![“I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.” quote by Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg) > “I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.” [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening to blues, jazz, and spirituals informs authentic storytelling about one’s community. **In simple terms:** Music informs writing about one’s people. Key Takeaway Learn from cultural music. Themes culture music authenticity Mood inspirational educational Type interview literary When to use this quote - creative workshops - community projects - teaching writing Key Concepts ethnomusicology narrative technique Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape narrative voice? - What other art forms inspire writing? A Different Perspective Music may not capture all experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [I have learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-have-learned/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz Spirituals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-spirituals-5772303/) [Learned Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-writing-1558509/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Listening Blues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening-blues-2014085/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-novels/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirituals Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituals-reading-5772302/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have from reading novels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to-2/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I have been influenced by music. I grew up listening to blues, jazz and all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redfoo/i-have-been-influenced-by-music-i-grew-up-listening-to-blues-jazz-and/) [Redfoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redfoo/) > [“Stop listening to the blues, and add some more songs to life's playlist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-galler/stop-listening-to-the-blues-and-add-some-more-songs-to-life-s-playlist/) [Maggie Galler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-galler/) > [I didn't really grow up listening to blues, because I grew up in the Northwest. It wasn't really the center for blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-listening-to-blues-because-i-grew-up-in-the/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [I learned so much from the writing on 'King of the Hill', which I thought was just magnificent. They would let real moments happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/i-learned-so-much-from-the-writing-on-king-of-the-hill-which-i/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [“I learned that writing is the consolation prize you are given when you don’t get the thing you want the most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lang-leav/i-learned-that-writing-is-the-consolation-prize-you-are-given-when/) [Lang Leav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lang-leav/) > [“I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-had-learned-already-never-to-empty-the-well-of-my-writing-but/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I've learned that writing a book and songwriting have a lot in common - it's all about the honesty and connection with the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmie-allen/i-ve-learned-that-writing-a-book-and-songwriting-have-a-lot-in-common/) [Jimmie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmie-allen/) > [I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-learned-never-to-empty-the-well-of-my-writing-but-always-to-stop/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Writing ... is a profession that can only be learned by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/writing-is-a-profession-that-can-only-be-learned-by-writing/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I've learned as much about writing from songwriters as I have from other writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/i-ve-learned-as-much-about-writing-from-songwriters-as-i-have-from/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [And that's what I've learned too: writing is key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-stratus/and-that-s-what-i-ve-learned-too-writing-is-key/) [Trish Stratus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-stratus/) > [I've learned through writing that if something made me feel deeply or anything at all, it was worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-ve-learned-through-writing-that-if-something-made-me-feel-deeply-or/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Writing is a trade ... which is learned by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/writing-is-a-trade-which-is-learned-by-writing/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“What I've learned about writing is that sometimes less is more, while often more is grander. And both are true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/what-i-ve-learned-about-writing-is-that-sometimes-less-is-more-while/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) ## More by Ernest Gaines > [I try to write something that would interest anybody and keep them turning the page. You must have a plot and good storyline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-try-to-write-something-that-would-interest-anybody-and-keep-them/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Words mean nothing. Action is the only thing. Doing. That's the only thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/words-mean-nothing-action-is-the-only-thing-doing-that-s-the-only/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [In all my stories and novels, no one ever escapes Louisiana. Maybe that is because my soul never left Louisiana, although my body did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/in-all-my-stories-and-novels-no-one-ever-escapes-louisiana-maybe-that/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I think I'm a very religious person. I think I believe in God as much as any man does. I don't only believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-think-i-m-a-very-religious-person-i-think-i-believe-in-god-as-much/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [There will always be men struggling...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/there-will-always-be-men-struggling/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [What for?" I said. "What for, Tante Lou? He treated me the same way he treated her. He wants me to feel guilty, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/what-for-i-said-what-for-tante-lou-he-treated-me-the-same-way-he/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [We all have much more in common than we have difference. I would say that about people all over the world. They don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/we-all-have-much-more-in-common-than-we-have-difference-i-would-say/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I believe that the writer should tell a story. I believe in plot. I believe in creating characters and suspense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-believe-that-the-writer-should-tell-a-story-i-believe-in-plot-i/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they're better than anyone else on earth - and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/a-myth-is-an-old-lie-that-people-believe-in-white-people-believe-that/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [When I'm sitting in the church alone, I can hear singing of the old people. I can hear their singing and I can hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/when-i-m-sitting-in-the-church-alone-i-can-hear-singing-of-the-old/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/question-everything-every-stripe-every-star-every-word-spoken/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Now, about that mulatto teacher and me. There was no love there for each other. There was not even respect. We were enemies if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/now-about-that-mulatto-teacher-and-me-there-was-no-love-there-for/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Without love for my fellow man and respect for nature, to me, life is an obscenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/without-love-for-my-fellow-man-and-respect-for-nature-to-me-life-is/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I knew I wanted to be a writer and I knew if I had a wife and family, I would neglect something, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-knew-if-i-had-a-wife-and-family/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [What I miss today more than anything else - I don't go to church as much anymore - but that old-time religion, that old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/what-i-miss-today-more-than-anything-else-i-don-t-go-to-church-as/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) [Explore all 41 Ernest Gaines quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Gaines" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/ernest-gaines-15825_books_i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-abo_738801.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have…” — Ernest Gaines", "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": "Ernest Gaines", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have learned as much about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to/#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 } } ] } ```