--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason for writing that essay was…" description: "\"The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of \"immigrant literature\" afte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg" --- # The reason for writing that essay was less a personal… ![“The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of "immigrant literature" after I had read quite a number of reviews (in different countries) involving books written by 'immigrants.'” quote by Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg) > “The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of "immigrant literature" after I had read quite a number of reviews (in different countries) involving books written by 'immigrants.'” [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He writes to explore discomfort with the label “immigrant literature” after reading many reviews. **In simple terms:** Questioning the term “immigrant literature.” Key Takeaway Reexamine labeling in art. Themes identity labeling literature Mood critical analytical Type essays commentary When to use this quote - book clubs - academic conferences - publishing decisions Key Concepts postcolonial theory authorial intent cultural categorization Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect your reading choices? - Can literature transcend its assigned category? A Different Perspective Labels can both empower and restrict creators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agendas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Different countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-countries/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Too much me is annoying under any circumstance, but too much me in an essay, however personal, would mar the art. My "character" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/too-much-me-is-annoying-under-any-circumstance-but-too-much-me-in-an/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Given that the label "immigrant literature" is already established, unavoidable for anyone with a migrant background and used in any given context, I strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/given-that-the-label-immigrant-literature-is-already-established/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [On television, I have watched countless athletes from different countries, sports and Olympics stand proudly at the top of the podium and shed tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kearney/on-television-i-have-watched-countless-athletes-from-different/) [Hannah Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kearney/) > [I've lived in so many different countries over the years. I spent most of my early life in the UK, five years in Germany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-khoo/i-ve-lived-in-so-many-different-countries-over-the-years-i-spent-most/) [Rachel Khoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-khoo/) > [In my opinion, the form of Government may be different in different countries, according to their circumstances, their wishes, their wants. England loves her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/in-my-opinion-the-form-of-government-may-be-different-in-different/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [I wasn't into Tolkien at school really. 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It is appropriate for them to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/world-trade-depends-on-differences-among-countries-not-similarities/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [What is interesting to me, as I travel, is that exactly the same agenda is being implemented in every country I travel to. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/what-is-interesting-to-me-as-i-travel-is-that-exactly-the-same-agenda/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [I was lucky to play with different people from all different countries in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-di-canio/i-was-lucky-to-play-with-different-people-from-all-different/) [Paolo di Canio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-di-canio/) > [We play in so many different countries. I've been in so many countries as a junior and as a pro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniil-medvedev/we-play-in-so-many-different-countries-i-ve-been-in-so-many-countries/) [Daniil Medvedev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniil-medvedev/) > [It's not Utopian to believe that we can create a global registry of financial assets so we know who owns what in different countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/it-s-not-utopian-to-believe-that-we-can-create-a-global-registry-of/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [I've gained a lot of experience playing with some of the top players in the world from different countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-horan/i-ve-gained-a-lot-of-experience-playing-with-some-of-the-top-players/) [Lindsey Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-horan/) > [Sometimes when you're in different countries, everything has become so homogenised and there's a Starbucks and McDonald's everywhere, and you could feel like you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-yun-lee/sometimes-when-you-re-in-different-countries-everything-has-become-so/) [Will Yun Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-yun-lee/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) ## More by Sasa Stanisic > [“If only I were a magician who could make things possible. I'd give objects the gift of defiance: banisters, gramaphones, guns, the napes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/if-only-i-were-a-magician-who-could-make-things-possible-i-d-give/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“The dead are lonelier than the living ever can be. They can't hear each other through coffins and the earth…When I die I'd like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-dead-are-lonelier-than-the-living-ever-can-be-they-can-t-hear/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [I just feel much more secure about whatever I write if I stand with one foot in reality - meaning if the stories I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/i-just-feel-much-more-secure-about-whatever-i-write-if-i-stand-with/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [Never too late to learn a language. And the good literature to come with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/never-too-late-to-learn-a-language-and-the-good-literature-to-come/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“...someone ought to invent a tool, a kind of plane to shave the lies away from stories and deception away from memories. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/someone-ought-to-invent-a-tool-a-kind-of-plane-to-shave-the-lies-away/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“If I were a magician who could make things possible, then pictures could talk while we painted them. If I were a magaician who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/if-i-were-a-magician-who-could-make-things-possible-then-pictures/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [For example, an author whose parents fled a war but he himself was born in the country where they fled to, and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/for-example-an-author-whose-parents-fled-a-war-but-he-himself-was/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [Europe is not becoming more unified - well, yes, on paper - but not as long as the criteria for so many things (import…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/europe-is-not-becoming-more-unified-well-yes-on-paper-but-not-as-long/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [Something as radical as a war can only be understood (if at all) through the collaboration of journalists, academia, artists and, of course, people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/something-as-radical-as-a-war-can-only-be-understood-if-at-all/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [Given that the label "immigrant literature" is already established, unavoidable for anyone with a migrant background and used in any given context, I strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/given-that-the-label-immigrant-literature-is-already-established/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“If I were a magician who could make things possible, I'd have lemonade always tasting as it did on the evening Francesco explained how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/if-i-were-a-magician-who-could-make-things-possible-i-d-have-lemonade/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“The water can't turn back and choose another bed, just as promises now cannot be kept. No drowned man comes up again asking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-water-can-t-turn-back-and-choose-another-bed-just-as-promises-now/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [By trying to give an artistic approach through my book I stepped unwillingly into other fields. Like a dentist being asked about a throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/by-trying-to-give-an-artistic-approach-through-my-book-i-stepped/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“...there's not enough of anything to go around except people and death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/there-s-not-enough-of-anything-to-go-around-except-people-and-death/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“A good story, you'd have said, is like our river Drina: never calm, it doesn't trickle along, it is rough and broad, tributaries flow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/a-good-story-you-d-have-said-is-like-our-river-drina-never-calm-it/) [Saša Stanišić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) [Explore all 34 Sasa Stanisic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) ## More Agendas quotes > [There's a dishonest tyranny in the liberal/progressive/socialist agenda that comes down and says 'we are here because we care about you; we want what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/there-s-a-dishonest-tyranny-in-the-liberal-progressive-socialist/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/it-s-when-someone-has-an-agenda-of-their-own-for-the-record-that-it/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We have to consider who is going to be the best prime minister to take on a "one nation" agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/we-have-to-consider-who-is-going-to-be-the-best-prime-minister-to/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. 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And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/the-forces-of-immorality-and-marxism-and-evil-count-on-one-thing-us/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) [Browse all 985 Agendas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of \"immigrant literature\" after I had read quite a number of reviews (in different countries) involving books written by 'immigrants.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sasa Stanisic" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-less-a-personal-agenda-than-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agendas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-less-a-personal-agenda-than-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/sa-a-stani-i-18570_agendas_the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-le_265420.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the…” — Sasa Stanisic", "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": "Sasa Stanisic", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reason for writing that essay...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-less-a-personal-agenda-than-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/the-reason-for-writing-that-essay-was-less-a-personal-agenda-than-an/#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 } } ] } ```