--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Read good writing, and don’t live in the…" description: "\"“Read good writing, and don’t live in the present. Live in the deep past, with the language of the Koran or the Mabinogion or Mother Goose or Dickens o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/rebecca-solnit-569_books_read-good-writing-and-don-t-live-in-the_851601.png" --- # Read good writing, and don’t live in the present. Live in… ![“Read good writing, and don’t live in the present. Live in the deep past, with the language of the Koran or the Mabinogion or Mother Goose or Dickens or Dickinson or Baldwin or whatever speaks to you deeply. Literature is not high school and it’s not actually necessary to know what everyone around…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/rebecca-solnit-569_books_read-good-writing-and-don-t-live-in-the_851601.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/rebecca-solnit-569_books_read-good-writing-and-don-t-live-in-the_851601.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/rebecca-solnit-569_books_read-good-writing-and-don-t-live-in-the_851601.png) > ““Read good writing, and don’t live in the present. Live in the deep past, with the language of the Koran or the Mabinogion or Mother Goose or Dickens or Dickinson or Baldwin or whatever speaks to you deeply. Literature is not high school and it’s not actually necessary to know what everyone around you is wearing, in terms of style, and being influenced by people who are being published in this very moment is going to make you look just like them, which is probably not a good long-term goal for being yourself or making a meaningful contribution. At any point in history there is a great tide of writers of similar tone, they wash in, they wash out, the strange starfish stay behind, and the conches.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading diverse, timeless literature nurtures a unique voice, while chasing current trends erodes individuality. **In simple terms:** Read classics to find yourself; avoid copying trends. Key Takeaway Seek depth over popularity. Themes individuality literature authenticity creative growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - writing practice - education - media consumption Key Concepts cultural memory literary canon self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - Which classic author resonates most with you? - How do you balance tradition and modernity? A Different Perspective Current trends can still inspire if filtered critically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Good writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writing/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Live in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-present/) [Mother goose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-goose/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Most writers do similar things in their minds. It's how the mind works, basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/most-writers-do-similar-things-in-their-minds-it-s-how-the-mind-works/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) > [When we no longer have good cooking in the world, we will have no literature, nor high and sharp intelligence, nor friendly gatherings, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/when-we-no-longer-have-good-cooking-in-the-world-we-will-have-no/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Mother Goose, she's on the skids. Sure ain't happy, neither are the kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/mother-goose-she-s-on-the-skids-sure-ain-t-happy-neither-are-the-kids/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I came across Mother Goose, so I turned her loose, she was screaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jethro-tull/i-came-across-mother-goose-so-i-turned-her-loose-she-was-screaming/) [Jethro Tull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jethro-tull/) > [“When we first went to Provence, I assumed I would be observing a different culture. With attachment in mind, it became obvious to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/when-we-first-went-to-provence-i-assumed-i-would-be-observing-a/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Mother Goose will show newcomers to this world how astonishing, beautiful, capricious, dancy, eccentric, funny, goluptious, haphazard, intertwingled, joyous, kindly, loving, melodious, naughty, outrageous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iona-opie/mother-goose-will-show-newcomers-to-this-world-how-astonishing/) Iona Opie > [“A Tribute to the Kite …Oh such joy what a splendor has never been heard of a string that would lend you the wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-loo/a-tribute-to-the-kite-oh-such-joy-what-a-splendor-has-never-been/) [Sara Loo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-loo/) > [“Alex and Conner looked at each other, thinking the same thing—they weren’t going to get rid of him. Rather than spending time arguing, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/alex-and-conner-looked-at-each-other-thinking-the-same-thing-they/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [“Whatever evil might come upon us, because we all came about out of love and care and the Bible and Mother Goose . What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-evil-might-come-upon-us-because-we-all-came-about-out-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why the hell are we conditioned into the smooth strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world, Alice-in-Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-the-hell-are-we-conditioned-into-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“What’s yuh firs’ name? VICARRO: Silva. JAKE: How do you spell it? VICARRO: S-I-L-V-A. JAKE: Silva! Like a silver lining! Ev’ry cloud has got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/what-s-yuh-firs-name-vicarro-silva-jake-how-do-you-spell-it-vicarro-s/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“Was it Mother Time? Rip Van Wrinkles? Old Woman River? Lady MacDeath?” “Not even close,” Mother Goose said. “They called me the Pied Piper!”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/was-it-mother-time-rip-van-wrinkles-old-woman-river-lady-macdeath-not/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [“Creators of literary fairy tales from the 17th-century onward include writers whose works are still widely read today: Charles Perrault (17th-century France), Hans Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/creators-of-literary-fairy-tales-from-the-17th-century-onward-include/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [I describe my look as a blend of mother goose, cinderella, and the local hooker!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-describe-my-look-as-a-blend-of-mother-goose-cinderella-and-the/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“For every evil under the sun, There is a remedy, or there is none. If there be one, try and find it; If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-goose-rhymes/for-every-evil-under-the-sun-there-is-a-remedy-or-there-is-none-if/) Mother Goose Rhymes ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "“Read good writing, and don’t live in the present. Live in the deep past, with the language of the Koran or the Mabinogion or Mother Goose or Dickens or Dickinson or Baldwin or whatever speaks to you deeply. Literature is not high school and it’s not actually necessary to know what everyone around you is wearing, in terms of style, and being influenced by people who are being published in this very moment is going to make you look just like them, which is probably not a good long-term goal for being yourself or making a meaningful contribution. 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