--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a certain sense a writer is 'selected'…" description: "\"In a certain sense a writer is 'selected' by his subject - his subject being the consciousness of his own era.\" — Nadine Gordimer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/nadine-gordimer-3358_certain_in-a-certain-sense-a-writer-is-selected_1226042.jpg" --- # In a certain sense a writer is 'selected' by his subject… ![“In a certain sense a writer is 'selected' by his subject - his subject being the consciousness of his own era.” quote by Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/nadine-gordimer-3358_certain_in-a-certain-sense-a-writer-is-selected_1226042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/nadine-gordimer-3358_certain_in-a-certain-sense-a-writer-is-selected_1226042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/nadine-gordimer-3358_certain_in-a-certain-sense-a-writer-is-selected_1226042.jpg) > “In a certain sense a writer is 'selected' by his subject - his subject being the consciousness of his own era.” [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers are shaped by the consciousness of their era, reflecting its concerns. **In simple terms:** Writers mirror their time’s mindset. Key Takeaway Write with awareness of your era’s issues. Themes literature history culture Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - creative writing - academic study Key Concepts subjectivity era consciousness selection Questions to Reflect On - How does a writer balance personal voice with era’s demands? - Can works transcend their time? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on era may limit timelessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Eras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eras/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a whole, simply did not want to touch the subject of consciousness. We have seen psychology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/most-20th-century-academic-physicists-and-academia-as-a-whole-simply/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Everything is a subject; the subject is yourself. It is within yourself that you must look and not around you... The greatest happiness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/everything-is-a-subject-the-subject-is-yourself-it-is-within-yourself/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [For me, photography is as much about the way I respond to the subject as it is about the subject itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/for-me-photography-is-as-much-about-the-way-i-respond-to-the-subject/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison d'�tre. The photograph is a fixed moment of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-kertesz/everything-is-a-subject-every-subject-has-a-rhythm-to-feel-it-is-the-2/) [Andre Kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-kertesz/) > [Worthy or not, my life is my subject, and my subject is my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/worthy-or-not-my-life-is-my-subject-and-my-subject-is-my-life/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-had-to-subject-the-subject-to-a-series-of-tests/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [No matter what the subject, the subject is always love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/no-matter-what-the-subject-the-subject-is-always-love/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [I never had to choose a subject - my subject rather chose me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-never-had-to-choose-a-subject-my-subject-rather-chose-me/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison detre. The photograph is a fixed moment of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-kertesz/everything-is-a-subject-every-subject-has-a-rhythm-to-feel-it-is-the/) [Andre Kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-kertesz/) > [“I never had to choose my subject- my subject rather chose me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-never-had-to-choose-my-subject-my-subject-rather-chose-me/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I spend a long time casting, but once I've cast a film there's a reason why I selected those people. So I'm hands-on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-spend-a-long-time-casting-but-once-i-ve-cast-a-film-there-s-a/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Some of God's noblest sons, I think, will be selected from those that know how to take wealth, with all its temptations, and maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/some-of-god-s-noblest-sons-i-think-will-be-selected-from-those-that/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've used Twitter now and again to try to figure something out; it's an amazing resource. But I think you have to use it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-ve-used-twitter-now-and-again-to-try-to-figure-something-out-it-s/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) ## More by Nadine Gordimer > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [The facts are always less than what really happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/the-facts-are-always-less-than-what-really-happened/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“Death's the discarder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/death-s-the-discarder/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It was a miracle; it was all a miracle: and one ought to have known, from the sufferings of saints, that miracles are horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/it-was-a-miracle-it-was-all-a-miracle-and-one-ought-to-have-known/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Mostly I'm interviewed by white people, and identified with white society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/mostly-i-m-interviewed-by-white-people-and-identified-with-white/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“I would be guilty only if I were innocent of working to destroy racism in my country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-would-be-guilty-only-if-i-were-innocent-of-working-to-destroy/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“Death is really the mystery of life, isn't it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/death-is-really-the-mystery-of-life-isn-t-it/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Sincerity is never having an idea of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/sincerity-is-never-having-an-idea-of-oneself/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“you like to have some cup of tea?-July bent at the doorway and began that day for them as his kind has always done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/you-like-to-have-some-cup-of-tea-july-bent-at-the-doorway-and-began/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Afrikaner women are lower than rats, closer related to plants, just fit enough to be raped in an act of genus preservation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/afrikaner-women-are-lower-than-rats-closer-related-to-plants-just-fit/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [The country of the tourist pamphlet always is another country, an embarrassing abstraction of the desirable that, thank God, does not exist on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/the-country-of-the-tourist-pamphlet-always-is-another-country-an/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Well, you know, in the fundamentalist milieu of the Afrikaners, there was a sense that they were a chosen people, that they were bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/well-you-know-in-the-fundamentalist-milieu-of-the-afrikaners-there/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Sentiment is for those who don't know what to do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/sentiment-is-for-those-who-don-t-know-what-to-do-next/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Success sometimes may be defined as a disaster put on hold. Qualified. Has to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/success-sometimes-may-be-defined-as-a-disaster-put-on-hold-qualified/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) [Explore all 131 Nadine Gordimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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