--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since its beginnings, American writing…" description: "\"Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.\" — Giles Foden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg" --- # Since its beginnings, American writing has been in… ![“Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.” quote by Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg) > “Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.” [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American literature has continuously interacted with global literary traditions, enriching both. **In simple terms:** American writing dialogues with world literatures. Key Takeaway Explore cross-cultural literary influences. Themes literature culture global dialogue history Mood analytical reflective Type literary historical When to use this quote - academic curricula - literary criticism - creative writing workshops Key Concepts intertextuality colonialism translation Questions to Reflect On - How can diverse literatures be equally represented? - What benefits arise from literary exchange? A Different Perspective Dominant narratives may marginalize non-Western voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writing-943489/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) [Beginnings American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-american-4004406/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Dialogue Literatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue-literatures-4004405/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Since](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/since/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-dialogue/) ## Related quotes > [Readers take in dialogue one thought at a time. A frequent mistake of beginners is to combine thoughts, which may be suitable for other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/readers-take-in-dialogue-one-thought-at-a-time-a-frequent-mistake-of/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) > [For all forms, writing dialogue is almost like writing music. I pay close attention to rhythms and tones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/for-all-forms-writing-dialogue-is-almost-like-writing-music-i-pay/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [There's a point I can get to where I start writing character and then through the dialogue, after all of this preparation, the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/there-s-a-point-i-can-get-to-where-i-start-writing-character-and-then/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [If there's anything I'm keen to get better at in my writing, then it's the writing of prose as opposed to the writing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/if-there-s-anything-i-m-keen-to-get-better-at-in-my-writing-then-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Wordiness is a sickness of American writing. Too many words dilute and blur ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/wordiness-is-a-sickness-of-american-writing-too-many-words-dilute-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm accountable - this sounds emo - to black American writing, Southern writing, Southern black American writing, American writing and my people. That's kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-accountable-this-sounds-emo-to-black-american-writing-southern/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing-we-are-a-society/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [If you just sit there, and you're a writer, you're bound to write crap. A lot of American writing is crap. And a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/if-you-just-sit-there-and-you-re-a-writer-you-re-bound-to-write-crap/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemingway-ernest-2/all-modern-american-literature-comes-from-one-book-by-mark-twain-2/) [Hemingway, Ernest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemingway-ernest-2/) > [My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [As one of the first editors at 'Outside' magazine in 1975, it was my contention that most American writing going back to James Fennimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/as-one-of-the-first-editors-at-outside-magazine-in-1975-it-was-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [As an American writer, the literary tradition that I draw on the most is the Anglo-American one, and when you are writing in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/as-an-american-writer-the-literary-tradition-that-i-draw-on-the-most/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## More by Giles Foden > [To realise belatedly that there are Swahili epic poems which rival their European equivalents for sweep and power has been exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/to-realise-belatedly-that-there-are-swahili-epic-poems-which-rival/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [My father worked in agriculture, and I got to travel round remote rural areas with him and see a bit of the landscape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/my-father-worked-in-agriculture-and-i-got-to-travel-round-remote/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [In any culture, if information is to maximise in a contextual space, and new meanings be born, the original story has to have substance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/in-any-culture-if-information-is-to-maximise-in-a-contextual-space/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [My father was an agricultural economist. In 1989 he was posted to Mbarara, a small town on the Uganda-Rwanda border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/my-father-was-an-agricultural-economist-in-1989-he-was-posted-to/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [It's the swirling river of time that makes our identities, not the monochromatic simplicity of skin colour or the definitive lines of international borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/it-s-the-swirling-river-of-time-that-makes-our-identities-not-the/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [You can gesture at the transnational problem of Islamist terrorism all you like, but it's just hot air unless you invest in proper security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/you-can-gesture-at-the-transnational-problem-of-islamist-terrorism/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [Ordinary Kenyans rightly want to be able to shop safely, and there is a long history of them doing just that, irrespective of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/ordinary-kenyans-rightly-want-to-be-able-to-shop-safely-and-there-is/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [Detective fiction could not have existed without Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/detective-fiction-could-not-have-existed-without-edgar-allan-poe/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [I spent my childhood tinkering with electronic circuits, on breadboards, as they used to be called, in particular making radio transmitters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/i-spent-my-childhood-tinkering-with-electronic-circuits-on/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [Writers such as Richard Powers and the late David Foster Wallace have shown the path to a newer generation of writers for whom all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/writers-such-as-richard-powers-and-the-late-david-foster-wallace-have/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [Foreign students add cultural value to their British peers, who need an international outlook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/foreign-students-add-cultural-value-to-their-british-peers-who-need/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [An important book for our times, in which one woman's determination and refusal to consent sets an example of courage and honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/an-important-book-for-our-times-in-which-one-woman-s-determination/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [“... la kuvunda halian ubani. There is no incense for something rotting. And that is the condition of the world. This I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/la-kuvunda-halian-ubani-there-is-no-incense-for-something-rotting-and/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [In Kenya, crime and terrorism are deeply linked, not least by the failure of successive Kenyan governments to control either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/in-kenya-crime-and-terrorism-are-deeply-linked-not-least-by-the/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [Suffering produces a recursion to the tribe, to one's own kind. When a lot of people suffer, tribes lose their head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/suffering-produces-a-recursion-to-the-tribe-to-one-s-own-kind-when-a/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) [Explore all 24 Giles Foden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Giles Foden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/since-its-beginnings-american-writing-has-been-in-dialogue-with-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/since-its-beginnings-american-writing-has-been-in-dialogue-with-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/giles-foden-24483_american_since-its-beginnings-american-writing-ha_2071894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.” — Giles Foden", "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": "Giles Foden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Since its beginnings, American writing has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/since-its-beginnings-american-writing-has-been-in-dialogue-with-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/since-its-beginnings-american-writing-has-been-in-dialogue-with-other/#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 } } ] } ```