---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was. It will never be again. Remember."
description: "\"“It was. It will never be again. Remember.”\" — Paul Auster"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg"
---

#  It was. It will never be again. Remember.

![“It was. It will never be again. Remember.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg)

> ““It was. It will never be again. Remember.””

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A fleeting moment is unique and will never return, urging us to cherish it.

**In simple terms:** Cherish moments because they are unique.

Key Takeaway

Appreciate the present.

Themes

impermanence memory appreciation

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- creative writing
- daily life

Key Concepts

existentialism nostalgia

Questions to Reflect On

- What moment are you overlooking?
- How does remembering shape your actions?

A Different Perspective

Memories fade; focus on the present.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/)

## Related quotes

> [“Yes. A language that will at last say what we have to say. For our words no longer correspond to the world. When things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/yes-a-language-that-will-at-last-say-what-we-have-to-say-for-our/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“We are not native. We have no generations of Americans behind us. We have roots elsewhere. We are looking in from the outside. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-are-not-native-we-have-no-generations-of-americans-behind-us-we/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“I groaned. “You set me up!” “And it was surprisingly easy.” Dad laughed. “Geez. I don’t know how you weren’t kidnapped as a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/i-groaned-you-set-me-up-and-it-was-surprisingly-easy-dad-laughed-geez/)

[T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/)

> [“That you are a born again Christian does not mean you will automatically succeed except you follow God's principles. Never forget faith without good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/that-you-are-a-born-again-christian-does-not-mean-you-will/)

[Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/)

> [There is only as much space, only as much time, only as much desire, only as many words, only as many pages, only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/there-is-only-as-much-space-only-as-much-time-only-as-much-desire/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [“Say No! Accept the burdens of revenge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/say-no-accept-the-burdens-of-revenge/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [A star needs a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-star-needs-a-star/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/)

[Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/)

> [“Without pain, poetry is not possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seerat/without-pain-poetry-is-not-possible/)

seerat

> [“Complete - Yourself! Others may only enhance your completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lashauna-d-hinton/complete-yourself-others-may-only-enhance-your-completeness/)

Lashauna D. Hinton

> [“You can't Google life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-tegie/you-can-t-google-life/)

C Tegie

> [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

> [“If you start and persist you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/if-you-start-and-persist-you-will-succeed/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

> [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

## More by Paul Auster

> [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

[Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## More Literature quotes

> [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/)

> [“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/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/)

[Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/)

> [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [The memoir by women, read by female readers, is considered a market form, not "great literature."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-zambreno/the-memoir-by-women-read-by-female-readers-is-considered-a-market/)

[Kate Zambreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-zambreno/)

> [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/)

[Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/)

> [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/)

[Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/)

> [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/)

[Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/)

> [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/)

[Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/)

> [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

[Browse all 5,800 Literature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It was. It will never be again. Remember.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Auster"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Literature"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/paul-auster-351_literature_it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember-2_271777.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was. It will never be again. Remember.” — Paul Auster",
                "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": "Paul Auster",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It was. It will never be...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-was-it-will-never-be-again-remember/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
