--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's difficult not to color our…" description: "\"It's difficult not to color our perception of author's product with his personality. There are so many examples of this. What do we think of Ezra Pound..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/salman-rushdie-153_20th-century_it-s-difficult-not-to-color-our-percepti_2104811.jpg" --- # It's difficult not to color our perception of author's… ![“It's difficult not to color our perception of author's product with his personality. There are so many examples of this. What do we think of Ezra Pound - clearly a great poet and clearly kind of an asshole? You can say the same thing about Louis-Ferdinand Céline, who clearly was a Nazi…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/salman-rushdie-153_20th-century_it-s-difficult-not-to-color-our-percepti_2104811.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/salman-rushdie-153_20th-century_it-s-difficult-not-to-color-our-percepti_2104811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/salman-rushdie-153_20th-century_it-s-difficult-not-to-color-our-percepti_2104811.jpg) > “It's difficult not to color our perception of author's product with his personality. There are so many examples of this. What do we think of Ezra Pound - clearly a great poet and clearly kind of an asshole? You can say the same thing about Louis-Ferdinand Céline, who clearly was a Nazi sympathizer, and yet one of the great writers of the 20th century. It is tough, but there are enough examples around where we have to somehow find a way of separating the work from the artist and seeing what there is to see in the work, while also condemning the thoughts we see in the man.” [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. Separating creator’s personal flaws from their work is challenging but necessary to evaluate art on its own merits. **In simple terms:** We must judge art separately from the artist’s flaws. Key Takeaway Distinguish work from creator. Themes ethics art criticism separation of art and artist Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - museum curation - media criticism Key Concepts moral complexity cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - Can we ever fully separate art from artist? - What criteria help maintain objectivity? A Different Perspective Personal bias can cloud judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Great poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-poet/) [Great writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-writers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nazi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazi/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Once you are able to move beyond the concept of time, so too will you move beyond having any judging or condemning thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-moran/once-you-are-able-to-move-beyond-the-concept-of-time-so-too-will-you/) [Timothy Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-moran/) > [“If you are a poet, you will clearly see a cloud floating on this sheet of paper. Thich Nhat Hanh”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/if-you-are-a-poet-you-will-clearly-see-a-cloud-floating-on-this-sheet/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper? ?To be? is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-are-a-poet-you-will-see-clearly-that-there-is-a-cloud-floating-2/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Every poet gets to choose what kind of community he or she serves with the poems, and it's true that there is a community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/every-poet-gets-to-choose-what-kind-of-community-he-or-she-serves/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [“Hardy’s astonishing technical versatility has won the admiration of major poets from Ezra Pound and Cecil Day Lewis to Philip Larkin. Among other genres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-harvey/hardy-s-astonishing-technical-versatility-has-won-the-admiration-of/) [Geoffrey Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-harvey/) > [Someone — Cyril Connolly? Ezra Pound? — once said that anything that can be read twice is literature; I would say that anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/someone-cyril-connolly-ezra-pound-once-said-that-anything-that-can-be/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“The top eleven are, in order, T. S. Eliot’s “Prufrock,” Robert Lowell’s “Skunk Hour,” Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-top-eleven-are-in-order-t-s-eliot-s-prufrock-robert-lowell-s/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Eliot's understanding of poetic epistemology is a version of Bradley's theory, outlined in our second chapter, that knowing involves immediate, relational, and transcendent stages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-spears-brooker/eliot-s-understanding-of-poetic-epistemology-is-a-version-of-bradley/) [Jewel Spears Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-spears-brooker/) > [“Pay no attention to the criticism of men who have never themselves written a notable work. --Ezra Pound”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/pay-no-attention-to-the-criticism-of-men-who-have-never-themselves-2/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Ezra Pound was a pioneer of the most exciting aesthetic movement of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/ezra-pound-was-a-pioneer-of-the-most-exciting-aesthetic-movement-of/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [ 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/) > [ \[On Ezra Pound:\] A village explainer, excellent if you were a village, but if you were not, not. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/on-ezra-pound-a-village-explainer-excellent-if-you-were-a-village-but/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Take Ezra Pound's translations of poetry from Chinese. He doesn't really know Chinese, and the very strange results that he comes up with aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/take-ezra-pound-s-translations-of-poetry-from-chinese-he-doesn-t/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [The role of the poet is almost nothing...drearily nothing. And when he steps outside of his boots and tries to get tough as our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-role-of-the-poet-is-almost-nothing-drearily-nothing-and-when-he/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Some of my pictures are poem-like in the sense that they are very condensed, haiku-lik. There are others that, if they were poetry, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/some-of-my-pictures-are-poem-like-in-the-sense-that-they-are-very/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) ## 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 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's difficult not to color our perception of author's product with his personality. There are so many examples of this. What do we think of Ezra Pound - clearly a great poet and clearly kind of an asshole? You can say the same thing about Louis-Ferdinand Céline, who clearly was a Nazi sympathizer, and yet one of the great writers of the 20th century. 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