--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could stifle my voice, or strip it. I…" description: "\"I could stifle my voice, or strip it. I know that I could, because we can do anything we put our minds to. I know that I could, but it feels very unnat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_i-could-stifle-my-voice-or-strip-it-i-kn_2518894.png" --- # I could stifle my voice, or strip it. I know that I could… ![“I could stifle my voice, or strip it. I know that I could, because we can do anything we put our minds to. I know that I could, but it feels very unnatural for me to strip my prose like that, in part because place is so important to me.” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_i-could-stifle-my-voice-or-strip-it-i-kn_2518894.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_i-could-stifle-my-voice-or-strip-it-i-kn_2518894.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_i-could-stifle-my-voice-or-strip-it-i-kn_2518894.png) > “I could stifle my voice, or strip it. I know that I could, because we can do anything we put our minds to. I know that I could, but it feels very unnatural for me to strip my prose like that, in part because place is so important to me.” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## 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 feels conflicted about altering her voice, recognizing creative freedom yet sensing it would betray her sense of place and authenticity. **In simple terms:** Changing voice feels unnatural and betrays place. Key Takeaway Balance authenticity with creative experimentation. Themes creativity identity place Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal essays - cultural storytelling Key Concepts authenticity selfexpression artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - When is it okay to change one's artistic voice? - How does place shape creative expression? A Different Perspective Altering style may alienate core audience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Stifle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stifle/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We must stifle the voice of hatred and faction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/we-must-stifle-the-voice-of-hatred-and-faction/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [Female bodybuilding started out as a circus attraction, and I guess it still feels unnatural to some people, especially in a place that's more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/female-bodybuilding-started-out-as-a-circus-attraction-and-i-guess-it/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [“Parliament may as well close down if a few men between them are to be allowed to own the entire Press of the country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/parliament-may-as-well-close-down-if-a-few-men-between-them-are-to-be/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [It just feels unnatural to me to broadcast anything other than the character I've created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mckinnon/it-just-feels-unnatural-to-me-to-broadcast-anything-other-than-the/) [Kate McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mckinnon/) > [There are a lot of times that if a detail in a scene or a beat, feels unnatural, they'll allow me to explore another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eads/there-are-a-lot-of-times-that-if-a-detail-in-a-scene-or-a-beat-feels/) [George Eads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eads/) > [War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/war-is-so-unjust-and-ugly-that-all-who-wage-it-must-try-to-stifle-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If progressives were interested in mitigating inequality, they would support the dynamism of free markets to allow the merit of ideas, products and services…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/if-progressives-were-interested-in-mitigating-inequality-they-would/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [Faith is a personal matter, and should never be a cudgel to stifle inquiry. 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I wanted to write against that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-think-that-voodoo-as-a-spiritual-tradition-has-been-demonized-for/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-s-so-much-i-love-about-home-but-then-there-s-a-lot-that-i-can/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [The first writer that I think of immediately that I studied with at Michigan is Peter Ho Davies. 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When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Anything quotes > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. 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