--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I work from the body - I try to develop a…" description: "\"I work from the body - I try to develop a language of the body. I've invented a term I call \"corporeal writing\" around that idea. I love teaching and c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_body_i-work-from-the-body-i-try-to-develop-a_1247660.jpg" --- # I work from the body - I try to develop a language of the… ![“I work from the body - I try to develop a language of the body. I've invented a term I call "corporeal writing" around that idea. I love teaching and collaborating around this idea, because no new breakthrough in literature ever happened because everyone was doing what was already there.” quote by Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_body_i-work-from-the-body-i-try-to-develop-a_1247660.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_body_i-work-from-the-body-i-try-to-develop-a_1247660.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_body_i-work-from-the-body-i-try-to-develop-a_1247660.jpg) > “I work from the body - I try to develop a language of the body. I've invented a term I call "corporeal writing" around that idea. I love teaching and collaborating around this idea, because no new breakthrough in literature ever happened because everyone was doing what was already there.” [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exploring bodily expression creates new literary forms, breaking free from conventional language constraints. **In simple terms:** Body language can become a new literary tool. Key Takeaway Experiment with bodily expression in writing. Themes creativity embodiment innovation Mood inspirational experimental Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - writing workshops - performance art - therapy - education Key Concepts corporeal writing embodied cognition Questions to Reflect On - How can you incorporate bodily awareness into your writing? - What limits exist for corporeal writing? A Different Perspective Physical expression may not translate well to all audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [Corporeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporeal/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Love teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-teaching/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I love the walking contradiction of the body. I want to make corporeal characters, corporeal writing, I want to bring the intensities and contradictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-love-the-walking-contradiction-of-the-body-i-want-to-make-corporeal/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I work on my body to stay fit, but that does not make me superior to anyone. I am a forthright and hardworking girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amisha-patel/i-work-on-my-body-to-stay-fit-but-that-does-not-make-me-superior-to/) [Amisha Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amisha-patel/) > [You have to realize that your work is done by your body, and if your body is in very bad health, it's not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reynolds-price/you-have-to-realize-that-your-work-is-done-by-your-body-and-if-your/) [Reynolds Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reynolds-price/) > [Don't just work on your body, exercise your mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-barbarulo/don-t-just-work-on-your-body-exercise-your-mind/) [Michael Barbarulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-barbarulo/) > [You come into Congress, and in the orientation, pretty quickly, you're separated out by party. Which makes no sense, if you want to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lujan-grisham/you-come-into-congress-and-in-the-orientation-pretty-quickly-you-re/) [Michelle Lujan Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lujan-grisham/) > [Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/man-hath-his-daily-work-of-body-or-mind-appointed/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“There were corporeal, psychic, and spiritual people. Somatics, psychics, and pneumatics, they called them, from the Greek. Equality goes against nature, however rightly one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/there-were-corporeal-psychic-and-spiritual-people-somatics-psychics/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [The corporeal element in man is a large screen and partition that prevents him from perfectly perceiving abstract ideals; this would be the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-corporeal-element-in-man-is-a-large-screen-and-partition-that/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Lenelle Moïse's poems render the abstract - policy, disaster, history, diaspora - specific. Her words make the political not just personal, but corporeal: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mckeown/lenelle-mo-se-s-poems-render-the-abstract-policy-disaster-history/) [Erin McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mckeown/) > [No corporeal substance can be so subtle and swift as this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-conches/no-corporeal-substance-can-be-so-subtle-and-swift-as-this/) [William of Conches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-conches/) > [Corporeal death is not the whole story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/corporeal-death-is-not-the-whole-story/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“Epidermal Macabre Indelicate is he who loathes The aspect of his fleshy clothes,- The flying fabric stitched on bone, The vesture of the skeleton,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/epidermal-macabre-indelicate-is-he-who-loathes-the-aspect-of-his/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“I believe that we traverse this Earth, to find the missing materials that we need, for building our eternal homes in the world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-believe-that-we-traverse-this-earth-to-find-the-missing-materials/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“So hologram means--" I finally said. "It means non-corporeal, yeah. Which sucks seeing as how there are a lot of very corporeal things I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/so-hologram-means-i-finally-said-it-means-non-corporeal-yeah-which/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) ## More by Lidia Yuknavitch > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“This man was gorgeous. I'm mentioning this because women live their lives secretly waiting for their lives to become movies. We act like men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-man-was-gorgeous-i-m-mentioning-this-because-women-live-their/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We'd cry great waves of love and rage for this young woman, whose resistance made our own lives look empty as nadless ball sacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-d-cry-great-waves-of-love-and-rage-for-this-young-woman-whose/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We consumer and become exactly what we create. In all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-consumer-and-become-exactly-what-we-create-in-all-times/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [The WRITER of memoir gets incoming weirdness in very odd ways. I was recently talking to a memoir writer whose work just went meteoric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/the-writer-of-memoir-gets-incoming-weirdness-in-very-odd-ways-i-was/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I just want my stories to be mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-just-want-my-stories-to-be-mine/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Everyone’s last wish turned out to be love: may I be consumed by the simplicity and purity of a love story, any love, base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/everyone-s-last-wish-turned-out-to-be-love-may-i-be-consumed-by-the/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Words from my whole body, my entire life, or the lives of women and girls whose stories got stuck in their throats came gushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/words-from-my-whole-body-my-entire-life-or-the-lives-of-women-and/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We are what happens when the seemingly unthinkable celebrity rises to power. Our existence makes my eyes hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-are-what-happens-when-the-seemingly-unthinkable-celebrity-rises-to/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Worse, the bodies of women, minorities, children, disenfranchised bodies (prisoners, so-called nut cases, etc...) and their truths don't "count" as either present and important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/worse-the-bodies-of-women-minorities-children-disenfranchised-bodies/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [It may be true too that I would not have encountered the most important books and art and ideas of my life had I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/it-may-be-true-too-that-i-would-not-have-encountered-the-most/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I might think that equality has been achieved, there is no power relation going on in terms of class, race, or gender, I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-might-think-that-equality-has-been-achieved-there-is-no-power/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) [Explore all 111 Lidia Yuknavitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I work from the body - I try to develop a language of the body. I've invented a term I call \"corporeal writing\" around that idea. 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