--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by…" description: "\"Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.\" — Gunter Grass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png" --- # Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very… ![“Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.” quote by Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png) > “Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.” [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grass describes his artistic process as equal parts prose, poetry, and visual art, each given equal importance and freedom. **In simple terms:** He treats writing and drawing as equally democratic parts of his work. Key Takeaway Value all creative forms equally. Themes art democracy interdisciplinary equality Mood reflective thoughtful Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - personal studio - educational workshop Key Concepts literature visual art poetry Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which medium best fits an idea? - Can equal emphasis limit depth? A Different Perspective Balancing multiple mediums can dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-poetry/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I definitely used to write a lot at school. Comic poetry and drawings about people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/i-definitely-used-to-write-a-lot-at-school-comic-poetry-and-drawings/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [Virtually everywhere in the world, people still wake up and want their country to be more like the United States than any other nation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/virtually-everywhere-in-the-world-people-still-wake-up-and-want-their/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) > [“If freedom is free and none need worry, then what blood drops for thee?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-goodrich/if-freedom-is-free-and-none-need-worry-then-what-blood-drops-for-thee/) Ryan Goodrich > [“What is this thing? trading passions for a tiny bit of acceptance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/what-is-this-thing-trading-passions-for-a-tiny-bit-of-acceptance/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“Why can't prose be poetic?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-focke/why-can-t-prose-be-poetic/) [Kevin Focke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-focke/) > [“And perhaps, I'm a Tuesday night and you're a Wednesday morning the way we'll never even notice how we blend into each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danabelle-gutierrez/and-perhaps-i-m-a-tuesday-night-and-you-re-a-wednesday-morning-the/) [Danabelle Gutierrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danabelle-gutierrez/) > [Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/yet-it-is-true-poetry-is-delicious-the-best-prose-is-that-which-is/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-prose-but-not-poetry-not-one-line/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“He said that he felt that there was a book hidden between us. Some small thing lodged between a rib or a summer. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/he-said-that-he-felt-that-there-was-a-book-hidden-between-us-some/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) > [One of the most important differences I see between prose and poetry is the music of the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/one-of-the-most-important-differences-i-see-between-prose-and-poetry/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [“There is a deep truth in being at home enough with someone to kiss them while your lips are dry. And happiness may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/there-is-a-deep-truth-in-being-at-home-enough-with-someone-to-kiss/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) > [“I used to be fine in my loneliness but something or someone snapped me out of it and showed me company. What it’s like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-used-to-be-fine-in-my-loneliness-but-something-or-someone-snapped/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“She bid him farewell, And scrutinized his silhouette, That slowly faded in the shadows. She whispered, "Au-revoir" To the nocturnal mist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruqayya-shaheed-khan/she-bid-him-farewell-and-scrutinized-his-silhouette-that-slowly-faded/) Ruqayya Shaheed Khan > [To design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/to-design-is-much-more-than-simply-to-assemble-to-order-or-even-to/) [Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/) > [“The struggle didn't leave a scar; it left a geography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-lynn/the-struggle-didn-t-leave-a-scar-it-left-a-geography/) Brandi Lynn ## More by Gunter Grass > [Melancholy has ceased to be an individual phenomenon, an exception. It has become the class privilege of the wage earner, a mass state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-has-ceased-to-be-an-individual-phenomenon-an-exception-it/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-and-utopia-are-heads-and-tails-of-the-same-coin/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [If work and leisure are soon to be subordinated to this one utopian principle - absolute busyness - then utopia and melancholy will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/if-work-and-leisure-are-soon-to-be-subordinated-to-this-one-utopian/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [I have often supported Israel, I have often visited the country and want the country to exist and at last find peace with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/i-have-often-supported-israel-i-have-often-visited-the-country-and/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Whenever there has been talk of exterminating rats, others, who were not rats, have been exterminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/whenever-there-has-been-talk-of-exterminating-rats-others-who-were/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“You can begin a story in the middle and create confusion by striking out boldly, backward and forward. You can be modern, put aside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/you-can-begin-a-story-in-the-middle-and-create-confusion-by-striking/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [There must be reasons why we men are so hipped on breasts as if we'd all been weaned too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/there-must-be-reasons-why-we-men-are-so-hipped-on-breasts-as-if-we-d/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Often I had to imagine the things I needed. I learned very early to read amidst noise. And so I started writing and drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/often-i-had-to-imagine-the-things-i-needed-i-learned-very-early-to/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Art is hard for a puritan to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/art-is-hard-for-a-puritan-to-understand/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [What does a river like the Vistula carry away with it? Everything that goes to pieces: wood, glass, pencils, pacts ... chairs, bones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-does-a-river-like-the-vistula-carry-away-with-it-everything-that/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Love That’s it: The cashless commerce. The blanket always too short. The loose connexion. To search behind the horizon. To brush fallen leaves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/love-that-s-it-the-cashless-commerce-the-blanket-always-too-short-the/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“They had tried doing it by themselves in her room with a cheap onion, but it wasn't the same. You needed an audience. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/they-had-tried-doing-it-by-themselves-in-her-room-with-a-cheap-onion/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [ \[To be an artist,\] this desire to conquer all with images. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/to-be-an-artist-this-desire-to-conquer-all-with-images/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [After the collapse of socialism, capitalism remained without a rival. This unusual situation unleashed its greedy and - above all - its suicidal power.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/after-the-collapse-of-socialism-capitalism-remained-without-a-rival/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Suppose you're teaching math. You assume that parallel lines meet at infinity. You'll admit that adds up to something like transcendence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/suppose-you-re-teaching-math-you-assume-that-parallel-lines-meet-at/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) [Explore all 128 Gunter Grass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## More Drawings quotes > [“His drawings were not originals then, only copies. He must have been doing them as a sort of retirement hobby, he was an incurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/his-drawings-were-not-originals-then-only-copies-he-must-have-been/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [“The stranger drew the curtains round the bed, took up the light, and inspected the apartment. The walls of both rooms were hung with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton/the-stranger-drew-the-curtains-round-the-bed-took-up-the-light-and/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton/) > [In middle school, I started to draw, and my pencil sketches were huge. They were these 4ft by 3ft drawings, and I got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/in-middle-school-i-started-to-draw-and-my-pencil-sketches-were-huge/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [Eye: Lift to see me looking at you all the time. Mouth: Lift to hear my feelings towards you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope-guardian/eye-lift-to-see-me-looking-at-you-all-the-time-mouth-lift-to-hear-my/) [Amber Hope(Guardian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope-guardian/) > [I suppose we carry photographs now, but I think it's rather wonderful that people used to carry drawings and watercolours. I wish people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-jackson/i-suppose-we-carry-photographs-now-but-i-think-it-s-rather-wonderful/) [Alison Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-jackson/) > [The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautiful-mark-it-has-to-be-a-mark-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [If you don't use an image now you might have a place to put it in further down the line - and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/if-you-don-t-use-an-image-now-you-might-have-a-place-to-put-it-in/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [What do drawings mean to me? I really don't know. The activity absorbs me. I forget everything else in a way that I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/what-do-drawings-mean-to-me-i-really-don-t-know-the-activity-absorbs/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Something happened when I was in elementary school. A Disney artist named Bruce McIntyre retired, and he had done drawings for 'Pinocchio' and 'Snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stromberg/something-happened-when-i-was-in-elementary-school-a-disney-artist/) [Robert Stromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stromberg/) > [Drawings help people to work out intricate relationships between parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/drawings-help-people-to-work-out-intricate-relationships-between-parts/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [I've always been a 'write first' artist: the drawings are always in service of the writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-brown/i-ve-always-been-a-write-first-artist-the-drawings-are-always-in/) [Jeffrey Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-brown/) > [My drawings at first were made altogether in watercolors, but they wanted softness and a great deal of finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/my-drawings-at-first-were-made-altogether-in-watercolors-but-they/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [When I read Alison Bechdel's 'Fun Home,' it was the first time I saw drawings that looked like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-perri/when-i-read-alison-bechdel-s-fun-home-it-was-the-first-time-i-saw/) [Camille Perri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-perri/) Browse all 186 Drawings quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gunter Grass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by-side-in-a-very-democratic-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drawings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by-side-in-a-very-democratic-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/gunter-grass-3046_drawings_prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by_2168062.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.” — Gunter Grass", "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": "Gunter Grass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by-side-in-a-very-democratic-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/prose-poetry-and-drawings-stand-side-by-side-in-a-very-democratic-way/#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 } } ] } ```