--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is wrong to be harsh with the New York…" description: "\"It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless one admits in the same breath that it is a condition of their existence that they should writ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg" --- # It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless… ![“It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless one admits in the same breath that it is a condition of their existence that they should write entertainingly about something which is rarely worth writing about at all.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg) > “It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless one admits in the same breath that it is a condition of their existence that they should write entertainingly about something which is rarely worth writing about at all.” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics should be harsh only if they acknowledge their role in making entertainment from low‑value subjects. **In simple terms:** Critics need honesty and self‑awareness. Key Takeaway Balance critique with self‑reflection. Themes literary criticism honesty entertainment Mood analytical skeptical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book reviews - media analysis - creative writing - public commentary Key Concepts ethical responsibility artistic standards Questions to Reflect On - Do you critique fairly? - Can harshness be constructive? A Different Perspective Critics may be biased regardless of self‑awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-unless-4582082/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Harsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harsh/) [Harsh New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harsh-new-5791118/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Wrong Harsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-harsh-5791117/) [York Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-critics-544960/) ## Related quotes > [“A brick could be used to silence your critics. Well, unless all your critics are mutes. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-silence-your-critics-well-unless-all-your/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [New York critics - I hear when one of them watched "A Star Is Born", he talked back to the screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/new-york-critics-i-hear-when-one-of-them-watched-a-star-is-born-he/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Of course, there are those critics - New York critics as a rule - who say, 'Well, Maya Angelou has a new book out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/of-course-there-are-those-critics-new-york-critics-as-a-rule-who-say/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Be a harsh critic of your own wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasilios-kotronias/be-a-harsh-critic-of-your-own-wins/) [Vasilios Kotronias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasilios-kotronias/) > [The novelist must be his own most harsh critic and also his own most loving admirer and about both he must say nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/the-novelist-must-be-his-own-most-harsh-critic-and-also-his-own-most/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [I'm a pretty harsh critic when it comes to my own stuff or things that come from my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-m-a-pretty-harsh-critic-when-it-comes-to-my-own-stuff-or-things/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [Great critics, of whom there are piteously few, build a home for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/great-critics-of-whom-there-are-piteously-few-build-a-home-for-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [The dilemma of the critic has always been that if he knows enough to speak with authority, he knows too much to speak with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-dilemma-of-the-critic-has-always-been-that-if-he-knows-enough-to/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/if-i-weren-t-an-actor-i-d-either-be-a-teacher-or-a-critic/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I am my biggest critic. Even in films where people said they liked me, I have disliked myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-akkineni/i-am-my-biggest-critic-even-in-films-where-people-said-they-liked-me/) [Samantha Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-akkineni/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) [Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/) > [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/she-jerked-away-from-me-like-a-startled-fawn-might-if-i-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “He \[James Cain\] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i-detest-a-proust-in-greasy/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/) [Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/) > [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Listen to this, Nimit. Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless one admits in the same breath that it is a condition of their existence that they should write entertainingly about something which is rarely worth writing about at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Raymond Chandler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-york-critics-unless-one-admits/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breaths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-york-critics-unless-one-admits/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/377/raymond-chandler-629_breaths_it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-yor_2362758.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is wrong to be harsh with the New York critics, unless one admits in the same breath that it is a…” — Raymond Chandler", "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": "Raymond Chandler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is wrong to be harsh...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-york-critics-unless-one-admits/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-is-wrong-to-be-harsh-with-the-new-york-critics-unless-one-admits/#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 } } ] } ```