--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have tried to remove weight, sometimes…" description: "\"I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight fr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg" --- # I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people… ![“I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg) > “I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language.” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author seeks to lighten narratives and language, removing unnecessary weight to achieve clarity and elegance. **In simple terms:** He wants lighter stories and language. Key Takeaway Strip excess to reveal core meaning. Themes writing clarity creativity Mood analytical inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - editing - teaching writing - public speaking Key Concepts literary theory minimalism Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance simplicity with richness? - What elements are essential in your storytelling? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification can strip depth and nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Heavenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavenly/) [Heavenly bodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavenly-bodies/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [My working method has more often than not involved the subtraction of weight. I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/my-working-method-has-more-often-than-not-involved-the-subtraction-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The only reason we find structure in stories is because it's there naturally in human interaction, and in the way that people tell stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-only-reason-we-find-structure-in-stories-is-because-it-s-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I'm a big believer that the structure of stories should reflect the content of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/i-m-a-big-believer-that-the-structure-of-stories-should-reflect-the/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [“Sometimes a gentle lie was enough to remove the weight of a harsh truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/sometimes-a-gentle-lie-was-enough-to-remove-the-weight-of-a-harsh/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Give me a few hours, and I can teach anyone how to get in and out on a Hobie. To get to the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hobart-alter/give-me-a-few-hours-and-i-can-teach-anyone-how-to-get-in-and-out-on-a/) [Hobart Alter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hobart-alter/) > [I divorce myself from listeners who aren't tolerant of humor. I did notice universally that, especially when it comes to weight, people look in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/i-divorce-myself-from-listeners-who-aren-t-tolerant-of-humor-i-did/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you've met your New Year's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/now-there-are-more-overweight-people-in-america-than-average-weight/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Sometimes I worry more about losing weight than gaining weight, because this is how people know and accept me. I do feel like if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/america-ferrera/sometimes-i-worry-more-about-losing-weight-than-gaining-weight/) [America Ferrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/america-ferrera/) > [I feel like I'm the only fighter who has ever missed weight in UFC, to be honest. Anyone, when we talk about weight now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-till/i-feel-like-i-m-the-only-fighter-who-has-ever-missed-weight-in-ufc-to/) [Darren Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-till/) > [My weight is something that people seem to talk about a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trunfio/my-weight-is-something-that-people-seem-to-talk-about-a-lot/) [Nicole Trunfio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trunfio/) > [“Regardless of what you do, your body is the subject of public discourse with family, friends, and strangers alike. Your body is subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/regardless-of-what-you-do-your-body-is-the-subject-of-public/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I remember when I was retiring I said to my kids 'I promise you I'll never put on weight' because people always think footballers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-cole/i-remember-when-i-was-retiring-i-said-to-my-kids-i-promise-you-i-ll/) [Andy Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-cole/) > [“But at the end of the white board, the edge, where you'll come down with your weight to make it send you off, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-at-the-end-of-the-white-board-the-edge-where-you-ll-come-down/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Funny how some people have to live on a bowl of salad to lose weight (Me) and some people eat 3 bars of chocolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tequilamucho/funny-how-some-people-have-to-live-on-a-bowl-of-salad-to-lose-weight/) Tequilamucho > [I love my body. I'm very much OK with it. I don't think artists are ever the ones who have the problem with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/i-love-my-body-i-m-very-much-ok-with-it-i-don-t-think-artists-are/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Italo Calvino" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes-from-people-sometimes-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes-from-people-sometimes-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/italo-calvino-402_body_i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes_702189.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities…” — Italo Calvino", "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": "Italo Calvino", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have tried to remove weight,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes-from-people-sometimes-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-have-tried-to-remove-weight-sometimes-from-people-sometimes-from/#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 } } ] } ```