--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Memory, or rather experience -- which is…" description: "\"“Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the event plus the wound it has inflicted on you, plus the change which it has wrought in you a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg" --- # Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the… ![“Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the event plus the wound it has inflicted on you, plus the change which it has wrought in you and which has made you different-- experience is the basic nutrition also for a work of literature (but not only for that), the true source of wealth…” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg) > ““Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the event plus the wound it has inflicted on you, plus the change which it has wrought in you and which has made you different-- experience is the basic nutrition also for a work of literature (but not only for that), the true source of wealth for every writer (but not only for the writer), and yet the minute it gives shape to a work of literature it withers and dies. The writer, after writing, finds that he is the poorest of men.”” [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. Memory combines the event, its pain, and resulting change, feeding literature but also draining the writer as the work loses its vitality. **In simple terms:** Memory fuels stories but can exhaust the author. Key Takeaway Balance memory use with personal renewal. Themes memory creativity exhaustion Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing memoirs - processing trauma - creative burnout Key Concepts psychology literary theory Questions to Reflect On - What memories enrich your work? - How do you recharge after intense writing? A Different Perspective The writer may become overly self‑critical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experience Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-memory-815434/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-experience-371696/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You write about experiences partly to understand what they mean, partly not to lose them to time. To oblivion. But there's always the danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/you-write-about-experiences-partly-to-understand-what-they-mean/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [Which is more important - experience or memory of experience? If you could have an hour of ecstasy that you'd forever remember as torture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/which-is-more-important-experience-or-memory-of-experience-if-you/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [How we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling the stories to ourselves. We know the story; we're just seeing it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/how-we-experience-memory-sometimes-it-s-not-linear-we-re-not-telling/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“When I was a child, I often used to lie awake at night, in fearful anticipation of some unpleasant event the following day, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/when-i-was-a-child-i-often-used-to-lie-awake-at-night-in-fearful/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“harsh lights and narrow hallways, images which did not seem so much theatrical or foreign as imbued with the indelible quality of memory, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/harsh-lights-and-narrow-hallways-images-which-did-not-seem-so-much/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Whenever we experience an event, whether we're visiting the dentist or taking a dream vacation, our consciousness registers that experience internally on a spectrum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/whenever-we-experience-an-event-whether-we-re-visiting-the-dentist-or/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Maury’s mind was practical, solidly founded on history, memory, and experience. It was in no way academic or theoretical. He did not substitute vocabulary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/maury-s-mind-was-practical-solidly-founded-on-history-memory-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Don't squander beautiful moments by always trying to snap the perfect picture or record the event on film. Sometimes it's better to watch things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/don-t-squander-beautiful-moments-by-always-trying-to-snap-the-perfect/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [To live (as I understand it) is to exist within a conception of time. But to remember is to vacate the very notion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mazzucchelli/to-live-as-i-understand-it-is-to-exist-within-a-conception-of-time/) [David Mazzucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mazzucchelli/) > [Through the experience of memory, you recall what you have done, and you therefore attach yourself to it and perceive yourself through prior experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-the-experience-of-memory-you-recall-what-you-have-done-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Every memory no matter how remote its subject takes place "now " at the moment it's called up in the mind. The more something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mazzucchelli/every-memory-no-matter-how-remote-its-subject-takes-place-now-at-the/) [David Mazzucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mazzucchelli/) > [“Our brains are the result of the experience of centuries. The brain is the storehouse of memory. Without that memory, without the accumulated experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/our-brains-are-the-result-of-the-experience-of-centuries-the-brain-is/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [All experience is memory, and so everything you write about is from memory-unless you're writing about typing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/all-experience-is-memory-and-so-everything-you-write-about-is-from/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“Memories are interesting. Interesting because they are faded yet detailed, pictured yet difficult to decipher, yelling yet mute, beautiful yet dreadful, magical yet logical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suyog-ketkar/memories-are-interesting-interesting-because-they-are-faded-yet/) [Suyog Ketkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suyog-ketkar/) > [“What makes and experience a memory is when we share with someone, the emotions we felt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-aldana/what-makes-and-experience-a-memory-is-when-we-share-with-someone-the/) [Jeremy Aldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-aldana/) ## 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 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": "“Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the event plus the wound it has inflicted on you, plus the change which it has wrought in you and which has made you different-- experience is the basic nutrition also for a work of literature (but not only for that), the true source of wealth for every writer (but not only for the writer), and yet the minute it gives shape to a work of literature it withers and dies. The writer, after writing, finds that he is the poorest of men.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Italo Calvino" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the-memory-of-the-event-plus-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the-memory-of-the-event-plus-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/italo-calvino-402_books_memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the_2711977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Memory, or rather experience -- which is the memory of the event plus the wound it has inflicted on you…” — 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": "“Memory, or rather experience -- which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the-memory-of-the-event-plus-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/memory-or-rather-experience-which-is-the-memory-of-the-event-plus-the/#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 } } ] } ```