--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a teenager, I virtually memorized my…" description: "\"“As a teenager, I virtually memorized my paperback editions, greedy for insider tips about the literary life. Pound, Eliot, Hemingway, Faulkner, Colett..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/michael-dirda-3414_life_as-a-teenager-i-virtually-memorized-my-p_1296611.jpg" --- # As a teenager, I virtually memorized my paperback… ![“As a teenager, I virtually memorized my paperback editions, greedy for insider tips about the literary life. Pound, Eliot, Hemingway, Faulkner, Colette, Waugh—they were all there. What has stuck with me the most over the years is their almost universal insistence on the importance of revision, of…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/michael-dirda-3414_life_as-a-teenager-i-virtually-memorized-my-p_1296611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/michael-dirda-3414_life_as-a-teenager-i-virtually-memorized-my-p_1296611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/michael-dirda-3414_life_as-a-teenager-i-virtually-memorized-my-p_1296611.jpg) > ““As a teenager, I virtually memorized my paperback editions, greedy for insider tips about the literary life. Pound, Eliot, Hemingway, Faulkner, Colette, Waugh—they were all there. What has stuck with me the most over the years is their almost universal insistence on the importance of revision, of revising and revising again.”” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage highlights that great writers emphasize relentless revision, viewing it as essential to craft and improvement. **In simple terms:** Writers stress constant rewriting to improve work. Key Takeaway Embrace continual revision. Themes writing revision craft Mood reflective inspirational Type literary educational When to use this quote - author workshops - self-editing - publishing Key Concepts literary process editing creative discipline Questions to Reflect On - How does revision shape your work? - When is enough revision enough? A Different Perspective Revision can be endless, risking perfectionism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literary Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-life-529764/) [Memorized Paperback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorized-paperback-2296183/) [Revising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revising/) [Revising Revising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revising-revising-4243048/) [Tips Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tips-literary-2296182/) ## Related quotes > [“and yet the original Writers at Work volumes, especially the first three, possessed a magic all their own. As a teenager, I virtually memorized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/and-yet-the-original-writers-at-work-volumes-especially-the-first/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I did not consider that I would lead a literary life. I'd thought initially, as a young girl, that I would be a teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-did-not-consider-that-i-would-lead-a-literary-life-i-d-thought/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Could a literary life be referred to with the iambic pentameter of, say, harnessing wind power, transplanting hearts or saving the whales. Or did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-nair/could-a-literary-life-be-referred-to-with-the-iambic-pentameter-of/) [Anita Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-nair/) > [In political life, dissatisfaction is remedied, or at least combated, through action. 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That a writer has this large world available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/the-biggest-misconception-that-people-have-about-the-literary-life-is/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“For twenty years I have sat alone at a desk tinkering with sentences and then sending them out, and for most of my literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-twenty-years-i-have-sat-alone-at-a-desk-tinkering-with-sentences/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [There is something about the literary life that repels me, all this desperate building of castles on cobwebs, the long-drawn acrimonious struggle to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-something-about-the-literary-life-that-repels-me-all-this/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Desmond O'Grady is one of the senior figures in Irish Literary life, exemplary in the way he has committed himself over the decades to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/desmond-o-grady-is-one-of-the-senior-figures-in-irish-literary-life/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I entered literary life as a meteor, and I shall leave it like a thunderbolt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/i-entered-literary-life-as-a-meteor-and-i-shall-leave-it-like-a/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [There are a lot of us, some published, some not, who think the literary life is the loveliest one possible, this life of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/there-are-a-lot-of-us-some-published-some-not-who-think-the-literary/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The greatest calling of all is to have a literary life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/the-greatest-calling-of-all-is-to-have-a-literary-life/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [I have high hopes for Renee Ballard's literary life, and it can't start out better than the top of 'USA TODAY''s best-seller list.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-have-high-hopes-for-renee-ballard-s-literary-life-and-it-can-t/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“There is no success of a nation that does not devote its literature to serve its affair. Does the awaited "reformation era" will start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-al-tantawi/there-is-no-success-of-a-nation-that-does-not-devote-its-literature/) [Ali Al-Tantawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-al-tantawi/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As a teenager, I virtually memorized my paperback editions, greedy for insider tips about the literary life. 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