--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd defend the right for any novelist to…" description: "\"I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with form or language, but if people don't take to it, don't react by making out that they are thic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg" --- # I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with… ![“I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with form or language, but if people don't take to it, don't react by making out that they are thick.” quote by Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg) > “I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with form or language, but if people don't take to it, don't react by making out that they are thick.” [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defending artistic experimentation while urging respect for audience reception. **In simple terms:** Support creative freedom but avoid insulting critics. Key Takeaway Balance innovation with empathy. Themes creativity artistic freedom audience respect Mood thoughtful defensive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary festivals - publishing decisions Key Concepts experimental literature critical reception Questions to Reflect On - How can creators invite feedback without feeling attacked? - What responsibilities do artists have to their readers? A Different Perspective Critics may still be harsh despite respectful tone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-accept-that-people-are-going-to-call-me-awful-things-every-day-and/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If anyone interferes into the private life of two people, I will defend the right of those two people between their four walls. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jair-bolsonaro/if-anyone-interferes-into-the-private-life-of-two-people-i-will/) [Jair Bolsonaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jair-bolsonaro/) > [Defend for all the right reasons than the wrongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defend-for-all-the-right-reasons-than-the-wrongs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I live proudly in a body of my own design. I defend my right to be complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-feinberg/i-live-proudly-in-a-body-of-my-own-design-i-defend-my-right-to-be/) [Leslie Feinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-feinberg/) > [Actually, I defend the right to free abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/actually-i-defend-the-right-to-free-abortion/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Most of us marvel at the ingenuity and imaginativeness of sting operations, defend their right to exist and will argue that if well-used, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/most-of-us-marvel-at-the-ingenuity-and-imaginativeness-of-sting/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [Defend the weak, protect both young and old, never desert your friends. Give justice to all, be fearless in battle and always ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/defend-the-weak-protect-both-young-and-old-never-desert-your-friends-2/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [For me, I will defend what's right - not who I am speaking with at the time or who I think will back me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-richards/for-me-i-will-defend-what-s-right-not-who-i-am-speaking-with-at-the/) [Kyle Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-richards/) > [It is, in fact, precisely to defend the right to free speech that countless patriots have given the last full measure of devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/it-is-in-fact-precisely-to-defend-the-right-to-free-speech-that/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [Defend the weak, protect both young and old, never desert your friends. Give justice to all, be fearless in battle and always ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/defend-the-weak-protect-both-young-and-old-never-desert-your-friends/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [God defend the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/god-defend-the-right/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [As soon as you hit 40, you have to defend your right to be that great age,' and still working in the media. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/as-soon-as-you-hit-40-you-have-to-defend-your-right-to-be-that-great/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/if-you-are-unwilling-to-defend-your-right-to-your-own-lives-then-you/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“The novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“She'll be an excellent novelist: a monster of self-absorption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lan-samantha-chang/she-ll-be-an-excellent-novelist-a-monster-of-self-absorption/) [Lan Samantha Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lan-samantha-chang/) ## More by Graham Joyce > [“He looked like a once-green leaf that had begun to dry and to reveal the structure of its veins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/he-looked-like-a-once-green-leaf-that-had-begun-to-dry-and-to-reveal/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Why can’t our job here on earth be simply to inspire each other?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/why-can-t-our-job-here-on-earth-be-simply-to-inspire-each-other/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Perhaps living souls had greater phantom powers than the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/perhaps-living-souls-had-greater-phantom-powers-than-the-dead/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“The most extraordinary thing about it all was how simple it was just to carry on. There were meals to be prepared and eaten;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-most-extraordinary-thing-about-it-all-was-how-simple-it-was-just/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“Someone said that thirty was a significant birthday, and everyone around the table agreed. Someone else said it was the first time you heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/someone-said-that-thirty-was-a-significant-birthday-and-everyone/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The blood in my veins is frozen but it sings of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-blood-in-my-veins-is-frozen-but-it-sings-of-love/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [If critics of 'readable fiction' want literature to change the ways people dream, they need first to come down from the mountain and speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/if-critics-of-readable-fiction-want-literature-to-change-the-ways/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“And there was Tara, again with that shy half-smile and her burgundy lips slightly puckered, that shy kink, an incomplete curlicue at the corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/and-there-was-tara-again-with-that-shy-half-smile-and-her-burgundy/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“The sun was up and I want to say that it was golden, but it wasn't golden, it was the color of treacle. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-sun-was-up-and-i-want-to-say-that-it-was-golden-but-it-wasn-t/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The mist hung in the air like a prancing unicorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-mist-hung-in-the-air-like-a-prancing-unicorn/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“There is no "mid" about it. Life is a crisis from the cradle to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/there-is-no-mid-about-it-life-is-a-crisis-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The overintellectualization of surrealism can be a bromide. A dream interpreted is a deflated dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-overintellectualization-of-surrealism-can-be-a-bromide-a-dream/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak-with-people-or-i-start/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Because two people in love don't make a hive mind. Neither should they want to be a hive mind, to think the same, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/because-two-people-in-love-don-t-make-a-hive-mind-neither-should-they/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [What I mean is this: you meet someone, you think about them. You're already changing because of the way you think about them. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/what-i-mean-is-this-you-meet-someone-you-think-about-them-you-re/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) [Explore all 58 Graham Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) ## More Defend quotes > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [We fight to defend our democratic ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/we-fight-to-defend-our-democratic-ideals/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [The pop culture has become more frenetic. There are more forces at work that are far more invasive. However, I think it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/the-pop-culture-has-become-more-frenetic-there-are-more-forces-at/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [I don't need a perfect person. I just need someone who will defend me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-need-a-perfect-person-i-just-need-someone-who-will-defend-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Swearing's my release. It's the one weapon I have to defend myself against destiny when it elects to strike without pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-pirlo/swearing-s-my-release-it-s-the-one-weapon-i-have-to-defend-myself/) [Andrea Pirlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-pirlo/) > [Having kids is the deal-breaker on shyness! Once you have a baby, you learn to speak up loud and clear to protect them, defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/having-kids-is-the-deal-breaker-on-shyness-once-you-have-a-baby-you/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [We will defend ourselves, and we have full rights to do so. If the authorities try to destroy us, we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-udaltsov/we-will-defend-ourselves-and-we-have-full-rights-to-do-so-if-the/) Sergei Udaltsov > [I definitely want to defend my 145 belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-nunes/i-definitely-want-to-defend-my-145-belt/) [Amanda Nunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-nunes/) > [In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wurzelbacher/in-1911-turkey-established-gun-control-from-1915-to-1917-1-5-million/) [Joe Wurzelbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wurzelbacher/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/defend-women-s-right-to-be-wrong-at-least-occasionally/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [There are a lot of things you can practise to unsettle teams that defend deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/there-are-a-lot-of-things-you-can-practise-to-unsettle-teams-that/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [The more you defend a lie, the angrier you become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-more-you-defend-a-lie-the-angrier-you-become/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I'm very willing to defend creative things that I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schneider/i-m-very-willing-to-defend-creative-things-that-i-believe-in/) [Dan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schneider/) > [Sometimes it is difficult to play against teams who just drop back and try to defend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadio-mane/sometimes-it-is-difficult-to-play-against-teams-who-just-drop-back/) [Sadio Mane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadio-mane/) Browse all 993 Defend quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with form or language, but if people don't take to it, don't react by making out that they are thick.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to-experiment-with-form-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Defend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to-experiment-with-form-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/graham-joyce-11733_experiments_i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to_1002744.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd defend the right for any novelist to experiment with form or language, but if people don't take to it…” — Graham Joyce", "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": "Graham Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd defend the right for any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to-experiment-with-form-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-d-defend-the-right-for-any-novelist-to-experiment-with-form-or/#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 } } ] } ```