--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had as yet no notion that life every…" description: "\"I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature—not for long, of course, but long enough to be what we best remember, and often ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg" --- # I had as yet no notion that life every now and then… ![“I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature—not for long, of course, but long enough to be what we best remember, and often enough so that what we eventually come to mean by life are those moments when life, instead of going sideways, backwards, forward, or nowhere at…” quote by Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg) > “I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature—not for long, of course, but long enough to be what we best remember, and often enough so that what we eventually come to mean by life are those moments when life, instead of going sideways, backwards, forward, or nowhere at all, lines out straight, tense and inevitable, with a complication, climax, and, given some luck, a purgation, as if life had been made and not happened.” [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life can feel like a story with structure, climax, and resolution, turning moments into meaningful narratives. **In simple terms:** Life often feels like a story with clear arcs. Key Takeaway Recognize and shape your life's narrative. Themes storytelling meaning reflection Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - writing - therapy - memory formation Key Concepts narrative structure existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - How can you find narrative in chaotic events? - What stories do you tell yourself about your past? A Different Perspective Life's randomness can resist tidy narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) ## Related quotes > [...life every now and then becomes literature...as if life had been made and not happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/life-every-now-and-then-becomes-literature-as-if-life-had-been-made/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-irving/a-criminal-trial-is-like-a-russian-novel-it-starts-with-exasperating/) [Clifford Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-irving/) > [“Life is like a story, when all the resolution is resolved, you heave a sigh of relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/life-is-like-a-story-when-all-the-resolution-is-resolved-you-heave-a/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Measured out my life in literature. --Jessica S”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smith-magazine/measured-out-my-life-in-literature-jessica-s/) SMITH Magazine > [Life and literature is a question of what one thrills to, and further than that no man shall ever go without putting his foot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/life-and-literature-is-a-question-of-what-one-thrills-to-and-further/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“People keep asking me, "Where do you get the ideas for your books?" From the worst moments in my life. I call that "literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-nathan/people-keep-asking-me-where-do-you-get-the-ideas-for-your-books-from/) [Sandy Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-nathan/) > [“That there are only two things that really matter in life. Literature and love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-kalotay/that-there-are-only-two-things-that-really-matter-in-life-literature/) [Daphne Kalotay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-kalotay/) > [“True life life at last discovered and illuminated the only life therefore really lived that life is literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/true-life-life-at-last-discovered-and-illuminated-the-only-life/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [What we lack is a basic willingness to see literature as providing some kind of necessary foundation. Our society still expects schools to prepare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwee-li-sui/what-we-lack-is-a-basic-willingness-to-see-literature-as-providing/) Gwee Li Sui > [To bring anything really to life in literature we can't be lifelike: we have to be literature-like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/to-bring-anything-really-to-life-in-literature-we-can-t-be-lifelike/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The relation between life and literature - a final antimony - is one of mutual plagiarism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-relation-between-life-and-literature-a-final-antimony-is-one-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“...there are only two things that really matter in life. Literature and love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-kalotay/there-are-only-two-things-that-really-matter-in-life-literature-and/) [Daphne Kalotay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-kalotay/) > [Life without literature is a life reduced to penury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-abrams/life-without-literature-is-a-life-reduced-to-penury/) [M. H. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-abrams/) > [It is the life in literature that acts upon life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/it-is-the-life-in-literature-that-acts-upon-life/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [We write from life and call it literature, and literature lives because we are in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/we-write-from-life-and-call-it-literature-and-literature-lives/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## More by Norman Maclean > [At the time I did not know that stories of life are often more like rivers than books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-the-time-i-did-not-know-that-stories-of-life-are-often-more-like/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“In this story of the outside world and the inside world with a fire between, the outside world of little screwups recedes now for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/in-this-story-of-the-outside-world-and-the-inside-world-with-a-fire/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I hope there are others also who don't mind trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-hope-there-are-others-also-who-don-t-mind-trees/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Probably most catastrophes end this way without an ending, the dead not even knowing how they died...,those who loved them forever questioning "this unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/probably-most-catastrophes-end-this-way-without-an-ending-the-dead/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [If our father had had his way, nobody who did not know how to fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/if-our-father-had-had-his-way-nobody-who-did-not-know-how-to-fish/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [I knew that, when needed, mountains would move for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-knew-that-when-needed-mountains-would-move-for-me/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I sat there and forgot and forgot, until what remained was the river that went by and I who watched... Eventually the watcher joined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-sat-there-and-forgot-and-forgot-until-what-remained-was-the-river/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-those-we-live-with-and-love-and-should-know-who-elude-us/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or fantasy, often the best we can do with catastrophes, even our own, is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/unless-we-are-willing-to-escape-into-sentimentality-or-fantasy-often/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/as-for-my-father-i-never-knew-whether-he-believed-god-was-a/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-sunrise-everything-is-luminous-but-not-clear/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“On the Big Blackfoot River above the mouth of Belmont Creek the banks are fringed by large Ponderosa pines. In the slanting sun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/on-the-big-blackfoot-river-above-the-mouth-of-belmont-creek-the-banks/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/of-course-now-i-am-too-old-to-be-much-of-a-fisherman-and-now-of/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“...it is not fly fishing if you are not looking for answers to questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-not-fly-fishing-if-you-are-not-looking-for-answers-to-questions/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/eventually-all-things-merge-into-one-and-a-river-runs-through-it-the/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) [Explore all 64 Norman Maclean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## More Backwards quotes > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. We tend to modulate the degree with which we're forgiving or punitive depending on how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/we-have-different-expectations-for-different-groups-of-people-we-tend/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [You know what, if you play 'She Looks So Perfect' backwards... you just listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hemmings/you-know-what-if-you-play-she-looks-so-perfect-backwards-you-just/) [Luke Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hemmings/) > [Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/nursing-is-a-progressive-art-such-that-to-stand-still-is-to-go/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [“Just like backing out of the driveway… If the driveway was ten miles long, full of rocks and pits, with lethal radiation hovering above,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-thorman/just-like-backing-out-of-the-driveway-if-the-driveway-was-ten-miles/) [Daniel Thorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-thorman/) > [We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature—not for long, of course, but long enough to be what we best remember, and often enough so that what we eventually come to mean by life are those moments when life, instead of going sideways, backwards, forward, or nowhere at all, lines out straight, tense and inevitable, with a complication, climax, and, given some luck, a purgation, as if life had been made and not happened.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Maclean" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-now-and-then-becomes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backwards" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-now-and-then-becomes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/norman-maclean-10625_backwards_i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-n_1629228.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature—not for long, of course, but long…” — Norman Maclean", "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": "Norman Maclean", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had as yet no notion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-now-and-then-becomes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-had-as-yet-no-notion-that-life-every-now-and-then-becomes/#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 } } ] } ```