--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not against sentimentality. I think…" description: "\"I'm not against sentimentality. I think you need it. I mean, I don't think you get a true picture of people without it in writing... It's a kind of poe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/nelson-algren-11153_emotional_i-m-not-against-sentimentality-i-think-y_1844335.jpg" --- # I'm not against sentimentality. I think you need it. I… ![“I'm not against sentimentality. I think you need it. I mean, I don't think you get a true picture of people without it in writing... It's a kind of poetry, it's an emotional poetry, and, to bring it back to the literary scene, I don't think anything is true that doesn't have it, that doesn't have…” quote by Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/nelson-algren-11153_emotional_i-m-not-against-sentimentality-i-think-y_1844335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/nelson-algren-11153_emotional_i-m-not-against-sentimentality-i-think-y_1844335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/nelson-algren-11153_emotional_i-m-not-against-sentimentality-i-think-y_1844335.jpg) > “I'm not against sentimentality. I think you need it. I mean, I don't think you get a true picture of people without it in writing... It's a kind of poetry, it's an emotional poetry, and, to bring it back to the literary scene, I don't think anything is true that doesn't have it, that doesn't have poetry in it.” [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sentimentality is essential in writing to capture authentic human emotion and depth, turning prose into poetic expression. **In simple terms:** Emotion makes writing real and poetic. Key Takeaway Embrace feeling in your work. Themes emotion authenticity literature Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - personal essays Key Concepts human experience poetic language Questions to Reflect On - How does emotion enhance truth in storytelling? - When might restraint serve better? A Different Perspective Sentimentality can be overused, making work saccharine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doesn Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-poetry-2375047/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Emotional Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-poetry-1303109/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-emotional-2375046/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Sentimentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality/) [Sentimentality Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality-think-979489/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [By its very looseness, by its way of evoking rather than defining, suggesting rather than saying, English is a magnificent vehicle for emotional poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/by-its-very-looseness-by-its-way-of-evoking-rather-than-defining/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [“Poetry is emotional in nature and theatrical in operation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/poetry-is-emotional-in-nature-and-theatrical-in-operation/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [I would say that when I write prose I'm a more socially responsible person. I'm much more a citizen of the world. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-would-say-that-when-i-write-prose-i-m-a-more-socially-responsible/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [Never was an age more sentimental, more devoid of real feeling, more exaggerated in false feeling, than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-was-an-age-more-sentimental-more-devoid-of-real-feeling-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sentimentality - that's what we call the sentiment we don't share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/sentimentality-that-s-what-we-call-the-sentiment-we-don-t-share/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Sentiment, crystallized, grows into sentimentality. It lost all spontaneity, which was the essence of feeling. It was dated--old-fashioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-ayer-barnes/sentiment-crystallized-grows-into-sentimentality-it-lost-all/) [Margaret Ayer Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-ayer-barnes/) > [Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-begbie/only-with-great-care-for-thousands-carols-will-be-their-only-link/) [Jeremy Begbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-begbie/) > [Being ill makes you feel what well people call sentimental, but what you feel is nonetheless genuine whatever they call it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/being-ill-makes-you-feel-what-well-people-call-sentimental-but-what/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“Sentimentalist” is the abuse with which people counter the accusation that they are cruel, thereby implying that to be sentimental is worse than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/sentimentalist-is-the-abuse-with-which-people-counter-the-accusation/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [I can't think of another attitude to have toward an audience than a hopeful and positive one. And if that includes such unfashionable things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/i-can-t-think-of-another-attitude-to-have-toward-an-audience-than-a/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) > [That is mere sentimentality that lies abed by day and thinks itself white, far from the tan and callus of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-is-mere-sentimentality-that-lies-abed-by-day-and-thinks-itself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [It's counterproductive. The problem with sentimentality is that it kills the emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-dardenne/it-s-counterproductive-the-problem-with-sentimentality-is-that-it/) [Jean-Pierre Dardenne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-dardenne/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) ## More by Nelson Algren > [When we get more houses than we can live in, more cars than we can ride in, more food than we can eat ourselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/when-we-get-more-houses-than-we-can-live-in-more-cars-than-we-can/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“For way down there, in a shot glass's false bottom, everything was bound to turn out fine after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/for-way-down-there-in-a-shot-glass-s-false-bottom-everything-was/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/chicago-is-an-october-sort-of-city-even-in-spring/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“Without hesitation, Dove chose the nowhere road. For that was the only place, in his heart of hearts, that he really wanted to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/without-hesitation-dove-chose-the-nowhere-road-for-that-was-the-only/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“Big-shot town, small-shot town, jet-propelled old-fashioned town, by old-world hands with new-world tools built into a place whose heartbeat carries farther than its shout,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/big-shot-town-small-shot-town-jet-propelled-old-fashioned-town-by-old/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [Never eat in a place called 'Mom's'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/never-eat-in-a-place-called-mom-s/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“Nor all your piety nor all your preaching, nor all your crusades nor all your threats can stop one girl from going on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/nor-all-your-piety-nor-all-your-preaching-nor-all-your-crusades-nor/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“A certain ruthlessness and a sense of alienation from society is as essential to creative writing as it is to armed robbery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/a-certain-ruthlessness-and-a-sense-of-alienation-from-society-is-as/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [Never sleep with someone whose troubles are worse than your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/never-sleep-with-someone-whose-troubles-are-worse-than-your-own/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“If you feel you belong to things as they are, you won’t hold up anyone in the alley no matter how hungry you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/if-you-feel-you-belong-to-things-as-they-are-you-won-t-hold-up-anyone/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [Literature is made upon any occasion that a challenge is put to the legal apparatus by conscience in touch with humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/literature-is-made-upon-any-occasion-that-a-challenge-is-put-to-the/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“faith in the eventual supremacy of reason has become so timid that we dare not enter our convictions in the open lists, to win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/faith-in-the-eventual-supremacy-of-reason-has-become-so-timid-that-we/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“And when I read one of those scapegoat pieces about the "viciousness" of drug pushers, and extolling the basic humanitarianism of the nark-squad hero,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/and-when-i-read-one-of-those-scapegoat-pieces-about-the-viciousness/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [There is no way of being a creative writer in America without being a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/there-is-no-way-of-being-a-creative-writer-in-america-without-being-a/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“If Jesus Christ treated me like you do, I’d drive in the nails myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/if-jesus-christ-treated-me-like-you-do-i-d-drive-in-the-nails-myself/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) [Explore all 60 Nelson Algren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) ## More Emotional quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [I am emotional, but that's not a negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franck-ribery/i-am-emotional-but-that-s-not-a-negative/) [Franck Ribery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franck-ribery/) > [I don't get emotional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-robertson/i-don-t-get-emotional/) [Andrew Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-robertson/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I'm an emotional eater. If something's worth celebrating, we're going to grab pizza. If it's going bad, girl, pass me the chocolate. Gotta keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurieann-gibson/i-m-an-emotional-eater-if-something-s-worth-celebrating-we-re-going/) [Laurieann Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurieann-gibson/) > [To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What's needed is a sound intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/to-invest-successfully-over-a-lifetime-does-not-require-a/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Male relationships are deeply emotional and hard to talk about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-lord/male-relationships-are-deeply-emotional-and-hard-to-talk-about/) [Phil Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-lord/) > [I'm simply saying that our deepest thoughts, desires and preoccupations manifest themselves in art, whether we intend them to or not. 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