--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a similar affection for the…" description: "\"I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I always take most of my parentheses out, so as not to call undue attention to the glaring fact tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg" --- # I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I… ![“I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I always take most of my parentheses out, so as not to call undue attention to the glaring fact that I cannot think in complete sentences, that I think only in short fragments or long, run-on thought relays that the literati call stream of…” quote by Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg) > “I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I always take most of my parentheses out, so as not to call undue attention to the glaring fact that I cannot think in complete sentences, that I think only in short fragments or long, run-on thought relays that the literati call stream of consciousness but I still like to think of as disdain for the finality of the period).” [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She loves parentheses for their ability to hold fragmented thoughts, reflecting a stream‑of‑consciousness style. **In simple terms:** She enjoys using parentheses to capture incomplete, flowing ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace tools that let you express nuanced thoughts. Themes writing creativity self‑expression Mood playful introspective Type literary personal When to use this quote - drafting essays - blogging - creative writing - editing Key Concepts fragmented narrative punctuation literary style Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance fragmentary style with readability? - When do parentheses enhance meaning? A Different Perspective Overuse may obscure clarity for readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Parenthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-parenthesis-5541166/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Finality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finality/) [Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Parentheses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parentheses/) [Parentheses Undue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parentheses-undue-5541168/) [Parenthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenthesis-965548/) [Parenthesis Parentheses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenthesis-parentheses-5541167/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Relays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relays/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stream of consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stream-of-consciousness/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [A play is a parenthesis that contains all the material you think has to be contained for the action of the play. Where do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/a-play-is-a-parenthesis-that-contains-all-the-material-you-think-has/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Disease often tells its secrets in a casual parenthesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-trotter/disease-often-tells-its-secrets-in-a-casual-parenthesis/) [Wilfred Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-trotter/) > [life's not a paragraph And death i think is no parenthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The created World is but a small Parenthesis in Eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/the-created-world-is-but-a-small-parenthesis-in-eternity/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [There's something about a parenthesis in fiction that puts one off, saying, "It's me, moi, jumping in now."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-heureux/there-s-something-about-a-parenthesis-in-fiction-that-puts-one-off/) [John L'Heureux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-heureux/) > [Man these hoes, take your money and I take their virginity. Im high, I split an O in half, now its a parenthesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/man-these-hoes-take-your-money-and-i-take-their-virginity-im-high-i/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [“And death i think is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/) [E. E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“we are for each other: then laugh, leaning back in my arms for life's not a paragraph and death i think is no parenthesis”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/we-are-for-each-other-then-laugh-leaning-back-in-my-arms-for-life-s/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [For me, writing is a parenthesis where I can make sense of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/for-me-writing-is-a-parenthesis-where-i-can-make-sense-of-life/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Parenthesis-proud, bracket-bold, happiest with hyphens, The writers stagger intoxicated by terms, adjective-unsteadied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-brode/parenthesis-proud-bracket-bold-happiest-with-hyphens-the-writers/) [Anthony Brode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-brode/) > [“I privately say to you old friend (unto you, really, I'm afraid), please accept from me this unpretentious bouquet of early-blooming parenthesis: (((( )))).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-privately-say-to-you-old-friend-unto-you-really-i-m-afraid-please/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Semi colon dash parenthesis, text messaging. Thats a side smiley face cause Imma make the best of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xv/semi-colon-dash-parenthesis-text-messaging-thats-a-side-smiley-face/) [XV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xv/) > [“The hardest thing to accept about the passage of time is that the people who mattered most to us are all wrapped up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-hardest-thing-to-accept-about-the-passage-of-time-is-that-the/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“...for life's not a paragraph/ and death, i think, is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/for-life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [A cigarette is a breathing space. It makes a parenthesis. The time of a cigarette is a parenthesis, and if it is shared, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/a-cigarette-is-a-breathing-space-it-makes-a-parenthesis-the-time-of-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More by Sarah Vowell > [“She is either male property (Mrs.), wannabe male property (Miss), or man-hating harpy (Ms.).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/she-is-either-male-property-mrs-wannabe-male-property-miss-or-man/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“We were breathing sooty air. The soot was composed of incinerated glass and steel but also, we knew, incinerated human flesh. When the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/we-were-breathing-sooty-air-the-soot-was-composed-of-incinerated/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [I was a big Nancy Drew reader. Nancy figures it out. Case closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-was-a-big-nancy-drew-reader-nancy-figures-it-out-case-closed/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“After Hymns and tears, they boarded the brig Thaddeus, a vessel so crappy, it made the Mayflower look like the QE2.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/after-hymns-and-tears-they-boarded-the-brig-thaddeus-a-vessel-so/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“The last line of Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is addressed to the American people and their congressmen. "As they deal with me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/the-last-line-of-hawaii-s-story-by-hawaii-s-queen-is-addressed-to-the/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“In the gravedigger scene in act V, Hamlet looks upon an anonymous skull and jokes that even Alexander the Great decomposed into dust that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/in-the-gravedigger-scene-in-act-v-hamlet-looks-upon-an-anonymous/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“Another reason I’m intrigued with the hanged of Salem, especially the women, is that a number of them aroused suspicion in the first place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/another-reason-i-m-intrigued-with-the-hanged-of-salem-especially-the/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [Listening to the radio every day for an entire year was a prison sentence. It was the most depressing, annoying, debilitating project I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/listening-to-the-radio-every-day-for-an-entire-year-was-a-prison/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [That's what I like to call him, "the current president." I find it difficult to say or type his name, George W. Bush. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/that-s-what-i-like-to-call-him-the-current-president-i-find-it/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“The historical periods I like to learn about aren’t so much costume dramas as slasher flicks. The French Revolution is a favorite because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/the-historical-periods-i-like-to-learn-about-aren-t-so-much-costume/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [While I gave up God a long time ago, I never shook the habit of wanting to believe in something. So I replaced my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/while-i-gave-up-god-a-long-time-ago-i-never-shook-the-habit-of/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [Most people don't like to talk about violent historical death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/most-people-don-t-like-to-talk-about-violent-historical-death/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who alphabetize their record collections, and the kind who don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-the-kind-who-alphabetize/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [What are you hiding? No one ever asks that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/what-are-you-hiding-no-one-ever-asks-that/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“I don't have a driver's license (phobia).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-don-t-have-a-driver-s-license-phobia/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) [Explore all 190 Sarah Vowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“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/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I always take most of my parentheses out, so as not to call undue attention to the glaring fact that I cannot think in complete sentences, that I think only in short fragments or long, run-on thought relays that the literati call stream of consciousness but I still like to think of as disdain for the finality of the period).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Vowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-parenthesis-but-i-always-take-most/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-parenthesis-but-i-always-take-most/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/sarah-vowell-2016_affection_i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-paren_699672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a similar affection for the parenthesis (but I always take most of my parentheses out, so as not to…” — Sarah Vowell", "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": "Sarah Vowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have a similar affection for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-parenthesis-but-i-always-take-most/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-have-a-similar-affection-for-the-parenthesis-but-i-always-take-most/#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 } } ] } ```