--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is literature, really? Boiled down…" description: "\"What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single sentence, I'd say it's this: an endless conversation about what it means to be human. And to read l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png" --- # What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single… ![“What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single sentence, I'd say it's this: an endless conversation about what it means to be human. And to read literature is to engage in that conversation.” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png) > “What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single sentence, I'd say it's this: an endless conversation about what it means to be human. And to read literature is to engage in that conversation.” [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature is an ongoing dialogue exploring human experience; reading joins you in that exchange. **In simple terms:** Literature is a conversation about being human. Key Takeaway Engage with stories to understand humanity. Themes human nature communication artistic expression Mood contemplative curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - book clubs - education - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - What does literature teach you about yourself? - How does dialogue shape cultural identity? A Different Perspective May oversimplify diverse literary purposes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Conversation Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation-means-1169534/) [Endless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endless/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-engage-1169536/) [Literature Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-really-489043/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Read Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-literature-536231/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Single sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-sentence/) [What it means to be human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-it-means-to-be-human/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I imagine as long as people will continue to read novels, people will continue to write them, or vice versa; unless of course the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-imagine-as-long-as-people-will-continue-to-read-novels-people-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“That was what a young woman was for. You seduced a young woman in order to be able to finish your talks with her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/that-was-what-a-young-woman-was-for-you-seduced-a-young-woman-in/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Conversation means being able to disagree and still continue the discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/conversation-means-being-able-to-disagree-and-still-continue-the/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [“In tracking what people have to say about schooling, I notice that most of the conversation is about means, rarely about ends. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman-the-end-of-education/in-tracking-what-people-have-to-say-about-schooling-i-notice-that/) [Neil Postman, The End of Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman-the-end-of-education/) > [“You seduced a young woman in order to be able to finish your talks with her. You could not do that without living with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-seduced-a-young-woman-in-order-to-be-able-to-finish-your-talks/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > ['Harry Potter' opened so many doors for young adult literature. It really did convince the publishing industry that writing for children was a viable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/harry-potter-opened-so-many-doors-for-young-adult-literature-it/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“The truth is, everyone likes to look down on someone. If your favorites are all avant-garde writers who throw in Sanskrit and German, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/the-truth-is-everyone-likes-to-look-down-on-someone-if-your-favorites/) [Brent weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [England opened up the world of literature for me. Not really having a world of my own, I made up for my disinheritance by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/england-opened-up-the-world-of-literature-for-me-not-really-having-a/) [Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/) > [The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-reason-that-fiction-is-more-interesting-than-any-other-form-of/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When Thomas Mann arrived in California from Germany, they asked him about German literature. And he said, 'German literature is where I am.' It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/when-thomas-mann-arrived-in-california-from-germany-they-asked-him/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [I take literature as a really serious human activity. It's not just a playful thing. It can be hilarious and wonderful and performative, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-take-literature-as-a-really-serious-human-activity-it-s-not-just-a/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Virginia Woolf's literature really transformed my own ideas about how to formally represent the passage of time and how time affects us. Specifically, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/virginia-woolf-s-literature-really-transformed-my-own-ideas-about-how/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [Everybody has a different idea of when those good old days were, but everyone is convinced that there was a time when literature really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/everybody-has-a-different-idea-of-when-those-good-old-days-were-but/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [If the future, as imagined in literature, is really the present taken to extremes, then the past is also the present, but boiled down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/if-the-future-as-imagined-in-literature-is-really-the-present-taken/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## More by Nicole Krauss > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting-to-overly-guide-the-reader/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) [Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single sentence, I'd say it's this: an endless conversation about what it means to be human. And to read literature is to engage in that conversation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicole Krauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to-a-single-sentence-i-d-say-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to-a-single-sentence-i-d-say-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/nicole-krauss-920_books_what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to_2512466.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is literature, really? Boiled down to a single sentence, I'd say it's this: an endless conversation…” — Nicole Krauss", "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": "Nicole Krauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is literature, really? Boiled down...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to-a-single-sentence-i-d-say-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-is-literature-really-boiled-down-to-a-single-sentence-i-d-say-it/#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 } } ] } ```