--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My request that my writing be read twice…" description: "\"My request that my writing be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. After all, I do not ask that they be read once.\" — Karl Kraus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/karl-kraus-1128_asks_my-request-that-my-writing-be-read-twice_842450.png" --- # My request that my writing be read twice has aroused great… ![“My request that my writing be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. After all, I do not ask that they be read once.” quote by Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/karl-kraus-1128_asks_my-request-that-my-writing-be-read-twice_842450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/karl-kraus-1128_asks_my-request-that-my-writing-be-read-twice_842450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/karl-kraus-1128_asks_my-request-that-my-writing-be-read-twice_842450.png) > “My request that my writing be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. After all, I do not ask that they be read once.” [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Demanding thorough reading of one’s work provokes strong, often unjustified, backlash. **In simple terms:** Demanding depth sparks controversy. Key Takeaway Seek depth, accept criticism. Themes literature critique integrity Mood ironic critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic publishing - editorial review - public discourse - literary criticism Key Concepts interpretation authorial intent reading standards Questions to Reflect On - Why do readers resist rereading? - How does criticism shape writing? A Different Perspective Critics may resist deeper engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The cruelest thing anyone can do to Portnoy's Complaint is to read it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/the-cruelest-thing-anyone-can-do-to-portnoy-s-complaint-is-to-read-it/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [“Reading those books is all he does these days. I think he’s even read some of them twice . What kind of disturbed individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/reading-those-books-is-all-he-does-these-days-i-think-he-s-even-read/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice-3/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Whatever sentence will bear to be read twice, we may be sure was thought twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/whatever-sentence-will-bear-to-be-read-twice-we-may-be-sure-was/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Almost any poem has to be read twice, first for strangeness, second for clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-daniels/almost-any-poem-has-to-be-read-twice-first-for-strangeness-second-for/) [Peter J. Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-daniels/) > [Someone — Cyril Connolly? Ezra Pound? — once said that anything that can be read twice is literature; I would say that anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/someone-cyril-connolly-ezra-pound-once-said-that-anything-that-can-be/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [This status is so good you will read it twice this status is so good you just read it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/this-status-is-so-good-you-will-read-it-twice-this-status-is-so-good/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [A passage is not plain English - still less is it good English - if we are obliged to read it twice to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/a-passage-is-not-plain-english-still-less-is-it-good-english-if-we/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I do like people to read the books twice, because I write my novels about ideas which concern me deeply and I think are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-do-like-people-to-read-the-books-twice-because-i-write-my-novels/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [You know, an audition usually is you come in and read the scene and if you're lucky, you get to read it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/you-know-an-audition-usually-is-you-come-in-and-read-the-scene-and-if/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice-2/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [What is read twice is usually remembered more than what is once written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/what-is-read-twice-is-usually-remembered-more-than-what-is-once/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“There are so many good books waiting to be read, I’ll never go back and read one twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-baker/there-are-so-many-good-books-waiting-to-be-read-i-ll-never-go-back/) [Deb Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-baker/) > [“My favorite thing in the world to do is read a book. I read Heidi, which I love, then I read another book, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-warshaw-skolsky/my-favorite-thing-in-the-world-to-do-is-read-a-book-i-read-heidi/) Mindy Warshaw Skolsky ## More by Karl Kraus > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I don't like to meddle in my private affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-don-t-like-to-meddle-in-my-private-affairs/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-and-my-public-understand-each-other-very-well-it-does-not-hear-what/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/hate-must-make-a-man-productive-otherwise-one-might-as-well-love/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/one-must-read-all-writers-twice-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-the-one/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Children today laugh at fathers who tell them about dragons. It is necessary to make fear a required subject; otherwise children will never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/children-today-laugh-at-fathers-who-tell-them-about-dragons-it-is/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The little stations are very proud because the expresses have to pass them by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-little-stations-are-very-proud-because-the-expresses-have-to-pass/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-have-often-been-asked-to-be-fair-and-view-a-matter-from-all-sides-i/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [In the theater one must sit in such a way that one sees the audience as a dark mass. Then it cannot bother one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/in-the-theater-one-must-sit-in-such-a-way-that-one-sees-the-audience/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Many desire to kill me, and many wish to spend an hour chatting with me. The law protects me from the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/many-desire-to-kill-me-and-many-wish-to-spend-an-hour-chatting-with/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) [Explore all 275 Karl Kraus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## 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": "My request that my writing be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. 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