--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you never look just wrong to your…" description: "\"If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you will never look just right to posterity - every writer has to try to be, to some extent, someti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png" --- # If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you… ![“If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you will never look just right to posterity - every writer has to try to be, to some extent, sometimes, a law unto himself.” quote by Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png) > “If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you will never look just right to posterity - every writer has to try to be, to some extent, sometimes, a law unto himself.” [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must balance contemporary expectations with future impact, often becoming unique voices despite criticism. **In simple terms:** Writers should aim for lasting originality. Key Takeaway Seek timeless originality. Themes literature creativity legacy Mood thoughtful inspired Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing drafts - publishing - teaching Key Concepts authenticity individualism Questions to Reflect On - Will your work be understood now or later? - How much should you conform to trends? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating current audience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Right or wrong, do it right for posterity to thrive on your dexterity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tetteh-cole/right-or-wrong-do-it-right-for-posterity-to-thrive-on-your-dexterity/) Jonathan Tetteh-Cole > [I try not to push characters too close to myself because they get harder to write, but as a writer, you try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-king/i-try-not-to-push-characters-too-close-to-myself-because-they-get/) [Tom King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-king/) > [I just feel the need as a writer to try something kind of deep and fulfilling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-peretti/i-just-feel-the-need-as-a-writer-to-try-something-kind-of-deep-and/) [Frank Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-peretti/) > [“@bobbybaird i'm a writer, so are you. we try to compose our thoughts and words for effect as well as sense. vain of us?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/bobbybaird-i-m-a-writer-so-are-you-we-try-to-compose-our-thoughts-and/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [ \[A writer\] should try not to be too far, personally, below the level of his work. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/a-writer-should-try-not-to-be-too-far-personally-below-the-level-of/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Many years ago... many, many years ago, I brought up a boy, and I said to him, 'Son, if you ever become a writer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-huston/many-years-ago-many-many-years-ago-i-brought-up-a-boy-and-i-said-to/) [Walter Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-huston/) > [I never really have blank page syndrome. I don't get blocked. I have a plan for my novel before I start which, although incomplete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-beauman/i-never-really-have-blank-page-syndrome-i-don-t-get-blocked-i-have-a/) [Ned Beauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-beauman/) > [I'm still not sure what pulled me into the career I chose, even though, now, I can't imagine having done anything else. Mostly, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gzowski/i-m-still-not-sure-what-pulled-me-into-the-career-i-chose-even-though/) Peter Gzowski > [ \[A writer\] must try to think clearly, to feel deeply, to write honestly. If he is fortunate he will make a living, but his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/a-writer-must-try-to-think-clearly-to-feel-deeply-to-write-honestly/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [As a writer, you always try to imagine, 'What if I were in a situation like this? How would I react?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-writer-you-always-try-to-imagine-what-if-i-were-in-a-situation/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I'm not a very intentional writer. I try to be as unintentional as possible. What I basically try to do is invite the zeitgeist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-m-not-a-very-intentional-writer-i-try-to-be-as-unintentional-as/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I was thinking about these women characters, no matter how bad a person I am - a bad writer, my limitations, my sexism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/when-i-was-thinking-about-these-women-characters-no-matter-how-bad-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I don't know when I made that active decision to be a writer or to try to write, but I know I always liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/i-don-t-know-when-i-made-that-active-decision-to-be-a-writer-or-to/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [I think my job is to try and be as honest as I can with what is in my mind and how I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-thomas-anderson/i-think-my-job-is-to-try-and-be-as-honest-as-i-can-with-what-is-in-my/) [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-thomas-anderson/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## More by Randall Jarrell > [“She helped the hunter with the cooking as a husband helps his wife: when he had gone out to hunt and left something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/she-helped-the-hunter-with-the-cooking-as-a-husband-helps-his-wife/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups, to a child, is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-obvious-facts-about-grown-ups-to-a-child-is-that-they/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Goethe said that the worst thing in art is technical facility accompanied by triteness. Many an artist, like God, has never needed to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/goethe-said-that-the-worst-thing-in-art-is-technical-facility/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Age could not wither nor custom stale her infinite monotony: in fact, neither Age nor Custom could do anything (as they said, their voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/age-could-not-wither-nor-custom-stale-her-infinite-monotony-in-fact/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A poet is a man who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightning five or six times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-poet-is-a-man-who-manages-in-a-lifetime-of-standing-out-in/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [More and more people think of the critic as an indispensable middle man between writer and reader, and would no more read a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/more-and-more-people-think-of-the-critic-as-an-indispensable-middle/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“The tags' chain stirs with the wind; and I sleep Paid, dead, and a soldier. Who fights for his own life Loses, loses: I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/the-tags-chain-stirs-with-the-wind-and-i-sleep-paid-dead-and-a/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [First one gets works of art, then criticism of them, then criticism of the criticism, and, finally, a book on The Literary Situation ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/first-one-gets-works-of-art-then-criticism-of-them-then-criticism-of/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [ Early in his life Mr. \[Ezra\] Pound met with strong, continued, and unintelligent opposition. If people keep opposing you when you are right, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/early-in-his-life-mr-ezra-pound-met-with-strong-continued-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Some of Mr. Gregory's poems have merely appeared in The New Yorker ; others are New Yorker poems: the inclusive topicality, the informed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/some-of-mr-gregory-s-poems-have-merely-appeared-in-the-new-yorker/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A successful poem says what a poet wants to say, and more, with particular finality. The remarks he makes about his poems are incidental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-successful-poem-says-what-a-poet-wants-to-say-and-more-with/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One Whitman is miracle enough, and when he comes again it will be the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-whitman-is-miracle-enough-and-when-he-comes-again-it-will-be-the/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Robert Frost says in a piece of homely doggerel that he has hoped wisdom could be not only Attic but Laconic, Boeotian even -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/robert-frost-says-in-a-piece-of-homely-doggerel-that-he-has-hoped/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Most people don't listen to classical music at all, but to rock-and-roll or hillbilly songs or some album named Music To Listen To Music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/most-people-don-t-listen-to-classical-music-at-all-but-to-rock-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) [Explore all 121 Randall Jarrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [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/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you will never look just right to posterity - every writer has to try to be, to some extent, sometimes, a law unto himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Randall Jarrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-contemporaries-you-will-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-contemporaries-you-will-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/randall-jarrell-3811_ifs_if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-con_2023208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you never look just wrong to your contemporaries you will never look just right to posterity - every…” — Randall Jarrell", "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": "Randall Jarrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you never look just wrong...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-contemporaries-you-will-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-you-never-look-just-wrong-to-your-contemporaries-you-will-never/#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 } } ] } ```