--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would ask the people who were generous…" description: "\"I would ask the people who were generous toward my own work. After class one day a poetry professor said to me, \"Hey, there's this guy Basho you would ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/john-d-agata-13689_asks_i-would-ask-the-people-who-were-generous_2410785.jpg" --- # I would ask the people who were generous toward my own… ![“I would ask the people who were generous toward my own work. After class one day a poetry professor said to me, "Hey, there's this guy Basho you would find interesting," and so I found Basho. A fiction teacher told me, "You ought to read Clarice Lispector if you're interested in that sort of…” quote by John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/john-d-agata-13689_asks_i-would-ask-the-people-who-were-generous_2410785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/john-d-agata-13689_asks_i-would-ask-the-people-who-were-generous_2410785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/john-d-agata-13689_asks_i-would-ask-the-people-who-were-generous_2410785.jpg) > “I would ask the people who were generous toward my own work. After class one day a poetry professor said to me, "Hey, there's this guy Basho you would find interesting," and so I found Basho. A fiction teacher told me, "You ought to read Clarice Lispector if you're interested in that sort of in-between stuff," and then Lispector appeared. It's not magic. You just keep your eyes open.” [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning comes from seeking recommendations and staying open to new voices, not from mystical insight **In simple terms:** Keep an eye out for suggestions to discover new ideas Key Takeaway Stay receptive to suggestions Themes learning curiosity mentorship Mood thoughtful inquisitive encouraging Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - Classroom - reading - creative work Key Concepts Literary discovery networking open-mindedness Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal taste with external recommendations? - What sources broaden your perspective? A Different Perspective May overlook personal intuition in favor of external advice ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [“Those I love go in the direction of what they call the last hour—what Clarice Lispector calls, “the hour of the star,” “the hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/those-i-love-go-in-the-direction-of-what-they-call-the-last-hour-what/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [Once I looked into it, I was taken aback to learn that pretty much nothing by João Gilberto Noll was available in English translation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-morris/once-i-looked-into-it-i-was-taken-aback-to-learn-that-pretty-much/) [Adam Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-morris/) > [Like her friend and admirer Clarice Lispector, Hilda Hilst was a passionate explorer of the sacred and the profane, the pure and the obscene,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-moser/like-her-friend-and-admirer-clarice-lispector-hilda-hilst-was-a/) [Benjamin Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-moser/) > [I always read the Latin American writers. I love so many of them: Gabriel García Márquez, José Donoso, Alejo Carpentier, Jorge Luis Borges, Clarice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-always-read-the-latin-american-writers-i-love-so-many-of-them/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [“When asked if he had a special feeling for books, critic-turned-filmmaker Francois Truffaut answered, "No. I love them and films equally, but how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-krasilovsky/when-asked-if-he-had-a-special-feeling-for-books-critic-turned/) Alexis Krasilovsky > [“I remember the book I was reading. Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. I remember because there were so many things in Hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/i-remember-the-book-i-was-reading-hour-of-the-star-by-clarice/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) ## More by John D'Agata > [Inclusiveness isn't what I want to push back against. The obsession with facts is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/inclusiveness-isn-t-what-i-want-to-push-back-against-the-obsession/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Yet there are some critics in the nonfiction world who still look at some of today's stranger interpretations of the essay and say "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/yet-there-are-some-critics-in-the-nonfiction-world-who-still-look-at/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I think that in a lot of readers' minds the essay is a lot more utilitarian than it is art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-think-that-in-a-lot-of-readers-minds-the-essay-is-a-lot-more/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [As frustrating as my time in grad school felt, it also helped tremendously because it challenged me to figure out what it was I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/as-frustrating-as-my-time-in-grad-school-felt-it-also-helped/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I'm not worried about what part of their life they needed to massage in order to achieve something that I get to experience as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-m-not-worried-about-what-part-of-their-life-they-needed-to-massage/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [You create your own audience, and your own community of peers, and in some ways you create your own forebears as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/you-create-your-own-audience-and-your-own-community-of-peers-and-in/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Even if it's a definition that feels oppressive to us, that oppression can be inspiring because it helps us push up against something while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/even-if-it-s-a-definition-that-feels-oppressive-to-us-that-oppression/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I thought that I wasn't an essayist because I just didn't see myself in a lot of the essays that were popular at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-thought-that-i-wasn-t-an-essayist-because-i-just-didn-t-see-myself/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [A risk is something that feels risky to the person who's taking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/a-risk-is-something-that-feels-risky-to-the-person-who-s-taking-it/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [You move your life across the country and make a commitment to a place, and to a genre, and then you realize that neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/you-move-your-life-across-the-country-and-make-a-commitment-to-a/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Pedagogically, we need definitions and borders. They help us get our heads around what we're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/pedagogically-we-need-definitions-and-borders-they-help-us-get-our/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [“Maybe every essay automatically is in some way experimental — less an outline traveling toward a foregone conclusion than an unmapped quest that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/maybe-every-essay-automatically-is-in-some-way-experimental-less-an/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I wanted to create an environment in which more than just personal essays could be represented, and in which stranger approaches to making essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-wanted-to-create-an-environment-in-which-more-than-just-personal/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Sometimes what I'm looking for is the thing that will help renew people's interest in a writer that they may have written off as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/sometimes-what-i-m-looking-for-is-the-thing-that-will-help-renew/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [It's fun to just skim through piles of books in the stacks of a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/it-s-fun-to-just-skim-through-piles-of-books-in-the-stacks-of-a/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) [Explore all 49 John D'Agata quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would ask the people who were generous toward my own work. After class one day a poetry professor said to me, \"Hey, there's this guy Basho you would find interesting,\" and so I found Basho. 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