--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly…" description: "\"Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned so supreme as the god of literary..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/jean-hanff-korelitz-16719_assistant_back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-edi_237551.jpg" --- # Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant… ![“Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned so supreme as the god of literary prose.” quote by Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/jean-hanff-korelitz-16719_assistant_back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-edi_237551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/jean-hanff-korelitz-16719_assistant_back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-edi_237551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/jean-hanff-korelitz-16719_assistant_back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-edi_237551.jpg) > “Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned so supreme as the god of literary prose.” [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing a day job with creative ambitions creates a tension where practical duties clash with artistic aspirations. **In simple terms:** Work and art conflict. Key Takeaway Prioritize time for writing. Themes creativity career balance Mood reflective determined Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - day job - night writing - career transition - freelance projects Key Concepts artistic ambition time management Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect creative time? - What sacrifices are worth making? A Different Perspective Sustaining income may limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Lowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowly/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When I put together a graphic novel, I don't think about literary prose. 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A hoop for the lowly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/what-is-a-rainbow-lord-a-hoop-for-the-lowly/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Highly fed and lowly taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/highly-fed-and-lowly-taught/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It would be a lowly art that allowed itself to be understood all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-would-be-a-lowly-art-that-allowed-itself-to-be-understood-all-at/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Though I have looked everywhere / I can find nothing lowly / in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/though-i-have-looked-everywhere-i-can-find-nothing-lowly-in-the/) [A. R. 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They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) ## More by Jean Hanff Korelitz > [Most of all, I am struck by an irony central to the lot of a purebred dog: As it attains the hallmarks of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/most-of-all-i-am-struck-by-an-irony-central-to-the-lot-of-a-purebred/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [I'm not in a position to tell anyone anything about how to live his or her life, but I think it's worth noting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/i-m-not-in-a-position-to-tell-anyone-anything-about-how-to-live-his/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [The implication of AKC registration is that a dog who has it is better than a dog who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/the-implication-of-akc-registration-is-that-a-dog-who-has-it-is/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [The Thames could be thought of as England's longest archaeological site, and no fewer than 90,000 objects recovered from its foreshore are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/the-thames-could-be-thought-of-as-england-s-longest-archaeological/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [My first three novels were all the subjects of intensely exciting flurries of calls from producers and even stars' production companies, and once someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/my-first-three-novels-were-all-the-subjects-of-intensely-exciting/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [To me, respect for human life begins with making it more difficult to obtain an inanimate object that is designed to snuff it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/to-me-respect-for-human-life-begins-with-making-it-more-difficult-to/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [“If a woman chose the wrong person, he was always going to be the wrong person: that was all. 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