--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a general feeling that writers and…" description: "\"I have a general feeling that writers and artists who are in this peculiar situation, of being a persecuted artist, all anyone ever asks about is the p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/salman-rushdie-153_art_i-have-a-general-feeling-that-writers-an_1066041.jpg" --- # I have a general feeling that writers and artists who are… ![“I have a general feeling that writers and artists who are in this peculiar situation, of being a persecuted artist, all anyone ever asks about is the persecution. It may well be that's the last thing in the world they want to talk about. There were many years in which every journalist in the world…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/salman-rushdie-153_art_i-have-a-general-feeling-that-writers-an_1066041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/salman-rushdie-153_art_i-have-a-general-feeling-that-writers-an_1066041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/salman-rushdie-153_art_i-have-a-general-feeling-that-writers-an_1066041.jpg) > “I have a general feeling that writers and artists who are in this peculiar situation, of being a persecuted artist, all anyone ever asks about is the persecution. It may well be that's the last thing in the world they want to talk about. There were many years in which every journalist in the world wanted to talk to me, but nobody wanted to talk to me about my work. That felt deeply frustrating because I felt there was an attempt to stifle me as an artist. The best revenge I could have was to write.” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist feels reduced to a victim, with focus on persecution rather than work, leading to frustration and a drive to respond through creation. **In simple terms:** Artists are seen as victims, not creators, causing frustration. Key Takeaway Channel frustration into creative output. Themes persecution artistic identity media focus Mood frustrated determined defiant Type reflective defensive When to use this quote - interviews - public speaking - art exhibitions - literary festivals - media appearances Key Concepts Freedom of expression censorship authorial agency Questions to Reflect On - How can creators assert their artistic identity beyond victimhood? - What role should media play in respecting an artist’s work? A Different Perspective The narrative may overlook the artist’s broader contributions beyond their trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Best revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-revenge/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [For many people, I've ceased to be a human being. I've become an issue, a bother, an "affair"… And has it really been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/for-many-people-i-ve-ceased-to-be-a-human-being-i-ve-become-an-issue/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The best revenge is, of course, a good life. Enjoy yourself, be happy, be successful. It'll drive them crazy-or you can imagine it does.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-james/the-best-revenge-is-of-course-a-good-life-enjoy-yourself-be-happy-be/) [Jennifer James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-james/) > [The best revenge is to always survive yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/the-best-revenge-is-to-always-survive-yourself/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“However, you should know I disagree with a lot of traditional advice. For instance, they say the best revenge is living well. I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/however-you-should-know-i-disagree-with-a-lot-of-traditional-advice/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [The best revenge is to look good. Always dress like you're going to see your worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-revenge-is-to-look-good-always-dress-like-you-re-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Success is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-the-best-revenge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's the best revenge of all: happiness. Nothing drives people crazier than seeing someone having a good fucking laugh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/that-s-the-best-revenge-of-all-happiness-nothing-drives-people/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Forgiveness is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/forgiveness-is-the-best-revenge/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The best revenge you could ever get on that person who broke your heart is to let them see you're still fine and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-best-revenge-you-could-ever-get-on-that-person-who-broke-your/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Being happy is the best revenge for your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-happy-is-the-best-revenge-for-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Living well is the best revenge (Margot Radcliffe)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/living-well-is-the-best-revenge-margot-radcliffe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-36-disdain-things-you-cannot-have-ignoring-them-is-the-best/) [The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/) > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge in the world is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/the-best-revenge-in-the-world-is-success/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [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/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a general feeling that writers and artists who are in this peculiar situation, of being a persecuted artist, all anyone ever asks about is the persecution. 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