--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All writers, all storytellers, are…" description: "\"All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.\" — Michael Kimmelman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg" --- # All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own… ![“All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.” quote by Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg) > “All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.” [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creators shape reality by imposing stories, influencing perception and meaning. **In simple terms:** Stories shape how we see the world. Key Takeaway Be aware of narrative bias. Themes storytelling perception power interpretation Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - creative writing - media analysis Key Concepts Narrative construction subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do your stories shape your view? - Whose narratives dominate public discourse? A Different Perspective Narratives can marginalize alternative perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposing/) [Imposing Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposing-narrative-1154825/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Storytellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers/) [Storytellers Imposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers-imposing-1154824/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Storytellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-storytellers-1154823/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writers are storytellers. So are readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/writers-are-storytellers-so-are-readers/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [People love talking about writers as storytellers, but I hate being called that: it suggests I got it from my grandmother or something, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/people-love-talking-about-writers-as-storytellers-but-i-hate-being/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I guess when I'm frightened or in pain or maybe very bored I've tried to hold myself together by imposing a narrative order on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-guess-when-i-m-frightened-or-in-pain-or-maybe-very-bored-i-ve-tried/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [One of the reasons why Gadafy's dictatorship has managed to remain in power for so long is not just because it has shown itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/one-of-the-reasons-why-gadafy-s-dictatorship-has-managed-to-remain-in/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [I sometimes wonder what those of us who are writers would become in a nonliterary culture - storytellers? Hermits?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-sometimes-wonder-what-those-of-us-who-are-writers-would-become-in-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Not all poetry wants to be storytelling. And not all storytelling wants to be poetry. But great storytellers and great poets share something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/not-all-poetry-wants-to-be-storytelling-and-not-all-storytelling/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [Before we were born, a whole society of storytellers was already here. 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When we understand this, we no longer feel the need to impose our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/all-humans-are-storytellers-with-their-own-unique-point-of-view-when/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [The earliest storytellers were magi, seers, bards, griots, shamans. They were, it would seem, old as time, and as terrifying to gaze upon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-earliest-storytellers-were-magi-seers-bards-griots-shamans-they/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [To be able to make up stories has been a great gift to me from my ancestors and from the storytellers who were so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/to-be-able-to-make-up-stories-has-been-a-great-gift-to-me-from-my/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More by Michael Kimmelman > [“Art provides us with clues about how to live our lives more fully...about how creating, collecting, and even just appreciating art can make daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-provides-us-with-clues-about-how-to-live-our-lives-more-fully/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Drawing used to be a civilized thing to do, like reading and writing. It was taught in elementary schools. It was democratic. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/drawing-used-to-be-a-civilized-thing-to-do-like-reading-and-writing/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [The consolation of art comes in many forms... For some it is making, for others it is having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/the-consolation-of-art-comes-in-many-forms-for-some-it-is-making-for/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Art, not unlike raising children... may entail much sacrifice and periods of despair, but, with luck, the effort will produce something that outlives you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-not-unlike-raising-children-may-entail-much-sacrifice-and-periods/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Art is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. 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That's the idea, anyway. To grasp what's exceptional, you first have to know what's routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/out-of-routine-comes-inspiration-that-s-the-idea-anyway-to-grasp-what/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [It's not that there is no such thing as truth. But we come to like and trust a certain story, not because it's necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/it-s-not-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as-truth-but-we-come-to-like-and/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/under-ordinary-circumstances-bad-art-naturally-gets-sorted-out-and/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Art provides us with clues about how to live our own lives more fully... art becomes our entree to the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-provides-us-with-clues-about-how-to-live-our-own-lives-more-fully/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [“Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/under-ordinary-circumstances-bad-art-naturally-gets-sorted-out-and-2/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [The paradox of the culture wars is that they have made celebrities out of some artists who would otherwise vanish. Censorship has become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/the-paradox-of-the-culture-wars-is-that-they-have-made-celebrities/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) [Explore all 14 Michael Kimmelman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) ## More Imposing quotes > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-longer-i-live-the-more-it-grieves-me-to-see-man-who-occupies-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/prayer-is-not-a-convenient-device-for-imposing-our-will-upon-god-or/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [But I'm very libertarian in the sense that I believe in small government and, as a general rule, I don't believe in imposing values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/but-i-m-very-libertarian-in-the-sense-that-i-believe-in-small/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [I'm fortunate to be famous for two rather imposing characters like Magneto and Gandalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/i-m-fortunate-to-be-famous-for-two-rather-imposing-characters-like/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [The United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and companies working to advance Iran's ballistic missile program, and we are going to remain vigilant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-united-states-is-imposing-sanctions-on-individuals-and-companies/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Communism worked honestly by officials devoid of human frailties and devoted to nothing but the good of its slaves, would have certain manifest material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/communism-worked-honestly-by-officials-devoid-of-human-frailties-and/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [Hysteria and degeneration have always existed; but they formerly showed themselves sporadically, and had no importance in the life of the whole community. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-nordau/hysteria-and-degeneration-have-always-existed-but-they-formerly/) [Max Nordau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-nordau/) > [Imposing excessive new regulations, or closing coal-fired power plants, would produce few health or environmental benefits. But it would exact huge costs on society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/imposing-excessive-new-regulations-or-closing-coal-fired-power-plants/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States. If somebody is able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-cannot-have-a-society-in-which-some-dictator-some-place-can-start/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/by-imposing-too-great-a-responsibility-or-rather-all-responsibility/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Instead of imposing your will on every situation...focus on including everyone else, and just that little adjustment of attitude gives you the space to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/instead-of-imposing-your-will-on-every-situation-focus-on-including/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Many Americans simply don't want the pinheads in Washington or the various state capitals to be telling us how to live. But we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/many-americans-simply-don-t-want-the-pinheads-in-washington-or-the/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) [Browse all 269 Imposing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Kimmelman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposing-their-own-narrative-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imposing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposing-their-own-narrative-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/michael-kimmelman-33676_imposing_all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposin_2510776.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.” — Michael Kimmelman", "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": "Michael Kimmelman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All writers, all storytellers, are imposing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposing-their-own-narrative-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposing-their-own-narrative-on/#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 } } ] } ```