--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, I didn't write my books for…" description: "\"You know, I didn't write my books for critics and scholars. I wrote them for students and artists. When I hear how much my work has meant to them--well..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png" --- # You know, I didn't write my books for critics and… ![“You know, I didn't write my books for critics and scholars. I wrote them for students and artists. When I hear how much my work has meant to them--well, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. That means that this great stuff of myth, which I have been so privileged to work with, will be kept…” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png) > “You know, I didn't write my books for critics and scholars. I wrote them for students and artists. When I hear how much my work has meant to them--well, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. That means that this great stuff of myth, which I have been so privileged to work with, will be kept alive for a whole new generation. That's the function of the artists, you know, to reinterpret the old stories and make them come alive again, in poetry, painting, and now in movies.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Campbell expresses that his work aims to inspire and serve students and artists, keeping myth alive for future generations through reinterpretation. **In simple terms:** He writes for learners and creators to keep myths alive. Key Takeaway Create and share art that revives old stories. Themes myth creativity legacy education inspiration Mood reflective hopeful creative Type advice inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - teaching - artistic projects - film adaptations - literary analysis - community workshops Key Concepts Archetype collective unconscious storytelling cultural transmission Questions to Reflect On - How can you use myths to inspire modern audiences? - What responsibilities do artists have when reimagining old stories? A Different Perspective May not reach all audiences; reinterpretations can distort original meanings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [New generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-generation/) [Old stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-stories/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Many questions come to mind. How influenced by contemporary religions were many of the scholars who wrote the texts available today? How many scholars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-stone/many-questions-come-to-mind-how-influenced-by-contemporary-religions/) [Merlin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-stone/) > [“And so we beat on, books against the critics, borne back ceaslessly into rewrites.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/and-so-we-beat-on-books-against-the-critics-borne-back-ceaslessly/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Her books were put down by most critics but readers would not put down her books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-shalit/her-books-were-put-down-by-most-critics-but-readers-would-not-put/) Gene Shalit > [“the old stories were right, she thought, and man had been first made from a handful of dust, here was Adam himself: all mud,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-perry/the-old-stories-were-right-she-thought-and-man-had-been-first-made/) [Sarah Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-perry/) > [Release old concepts and energies that keep you in self-punishment patterns. Release old stories and create from a place of love and self-validation. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/release-old-concepts-and-energies-that-keep-you-in-self-punishment/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/why-do-you-think-the-old-stories-tell-of-men-who-set-out-on-great/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-stories-are-like-old-friends-she-used-to-say-you-have-to-visit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A loose generalization would have it that creation and destruction go hand in hand. But my destruction takes the form of trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kroetsch/a-loose-generalization-would-have-it-that-creation-and-destruction-go/) [Robert Kroetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kroetsch/) > [“They say in old stories that you can't discover new lands without losing sight of the shore for a long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-gough/they-say-in-old-stories-that-you-can-t-discover-new-lands-without/) Laurie Gough > [There's no longevity in me telling old stories on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-bonaduce/there-s-no-longevity-in-me-telling-old-stories-on-the-radio/) [Danny Bonaduce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-bonaduce/) > [“Dreams are like the old stories where wolves are seekers always running, and women carry fire in their bare hands and light the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-rendell/dreams-are-like-the-old-stories-where-wolves-are-seekers-always/) [Tamara Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-rendell/) > [“The tatters of old stories are tangled, weathered, muted by long-held silences that succeeded loud feuds, and sometimes no doubt re-dyed a more flattering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-tatters-of-old-stories-are-tangled-weathered-muted-by-long-held/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [He tells you stories, but then, after a while, when you want more, he doesn't give you more. He insists on this old elaboration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-finney/he-tells-you-stories-but-then-after-a-while-when-you-want-more-he/) [Albert Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-finney/) > [“But I'm getting to it. I can't come at it cold. I'm warming my hands over old stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mcgill/but-i-m-getting-to-it-i-can-t-come-at-it-cold-i-m-warming-my-hands/) [Bernie Mcgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mcgill/) > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You know, I didn't write my books for critics and scholars. I wrote them for students and artists. When I hear how much my work has meant to them--well, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. That means that this great stuff of myth, which I have been so privileged to work with, will be kept alive for a whole new generation. That's the function of the artists, you know, to reinterpret the old stories and make them come alive again, in poetry, painting, and now in movies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-critics-and-scholars-i-wrote/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-critics-and-scholars-i-wrote/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/joseph-campbell-300_alive_you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-cri_2398940.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You know, I didn't write my books for critics and scholars. I wrote them for students and artists. When I…” — Joseph Campbell", "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": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You know, I didn't write my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-critics-and-scholars-i-wrote/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-know-i-didn-t-write-my-books-for-critics-and-scholars-i-wrote/#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 } } ] } ```