--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I would have answered: \"The knottier…" description: "\"“And I would have answered: \"The knottier the branch, the more twisted and misshapen, the more bent people called it, the harder it is to find it a pla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg" --- # And I would have answered: "The knottier the branch, the… ![“And I would have answered: "The knottier the branch, the more twisted and misshapen, the more bent people called it, the harder it is to find it a place among the smooth planks, the more people agree that it should be thrown on the fire, the more useless it is, the more unsuitable for anything…” quote by Sjón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg) > ““And I would have answered: "The knottier the branch, the more twisted and misshapen, the more bent people called it, the harder it is to find it a place among the smooth planks, the more people agree that it should be thrown on the fire, the more useless it is, the more unsuitable for anything except letting one's imagination run riot, the more I covet it, the more I yearn to weigh it in my hand, the more I long to let my whittling knife be guided by its knots and veins...Yes, bring that piece to me...”” [Sjón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage celebrates the irregular, twisted nature of a branch as a metaphor for valuing complexity and imperfection in art, urging creators to cherish and shape the unconventional. **In simple terms:** Complexity and imperfection are artistic strengths. Key Takeaway Seek beauty in the irregular. Themes art creativity imperfection complexity nature Mood curious reflective inspired Type artistic metaphorical When to use this quote - sculpture - writing - music composition - design - personal growth Key Concepts aesthetic theory symbolism craftsmanship Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn flaws into artistic assets? - What does the 'knotted branch' symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Complexity can be hard to market or understand. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answered Knottier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered-knottier-2851236/) [Branch Twisted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branch-twisted-2851235/) [Knots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knots/) [Knottier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knottier-2851238/) [Knottier Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knottier-branch-2851237/) [Life and living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-living/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/we-look-at-life-from-the-back-side-of-the-tapestry-and-most-of-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [A lot of student directors used to pick other students to be in their graduate films, so. I ended up doing a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-austin-green/a-lot-of-student-directors-used-to-pick-other-students-to-be-in-their/) [Brian Austin Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-austin-green/) > [How to unravel the knot of reality? Slowly and patiently. You cannot run away from it. You cannot run towards it. Yet truth runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/how-to-unravel-the-knot-of-reality-slowly-and-patiently-you-cannot/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [If my impressions are correct, our educational planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best of the men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-newcomb/if-my-impressions-are-correct-our-educational-planing-mill-cuts-down/) [Simon Newcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-newcomb/) > [Words got in the way. The things we felt the hardest--like what it was like to have a boy touch you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/words-got-in-the-way-the-things-we-felt-the-hardest-like-what-it-was/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My hairstylist taught me a trick for my hair. You section off your hair and put them up in these crazy little knots and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/my-hairstylist-taught-me-a-trick-for-my-hair-you-section-off-your/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Moderate Republicans are reverse Houdinis. They tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can’t do anything because they’re tied up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/moderate-republicans-are-reverse-houdinis-they-tie-themselves-up-in/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [“What have you been doing to yourself, Belinda? Girl, you’ve got more knots in your shoulders than are listed in the Boy Scout handbook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-johnson/what-have-you-been-doing-to-yourself-belinda-girl-you-ve-got-more/) [Cat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-johnson/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Knots was about the relationships that were built over many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-van-ark/knots-was-about-the-relationships-that-were-built-over-many-years/) [Joan Van Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-van-ark/) ## More by Sjón > [I do quite extensive research for most of my novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-do-quite-extensive-research-for-most-of-my-novels/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [All authors secretly hope that their works will be read in 100 years' time and 200 years, and that they will somehow survive into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/all-authors-secretly-hope-that-their-works-will-be-read-in-100-years/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [ \[Bob Dylan\] builds his lyrics, of course, from personal experience, but it's also a literary work. He draws heavily on his knowledge of American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/bob-dylan-builds-his-lyrics-of-course-from-personal-experience-but-it/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [One thing for sure is it will be written in the Icelandic language. All of my literary work is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/one-thing-for-sure-is-it-will-be-written-in-the-icelandic-language/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [Much of my time is taken up by reading, researching and trying out ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/much-of-my-time-is-taken-up-by-reading-researching-and-trying-out/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [Politics enter dangerous ground, when people proclaim there are simple answers for our complex world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/politics-enter-dangerous-ground-when-people-proclaim-there-are-simple/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I will just take the chance that the language will still be relevant in 100 years, which is something we cannot take for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-will-just-take-the-chance-that-the-language-will-still-be-relevant/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [Bjork is one of my oldest friends so we share the friendship and common roots. That is what we build on when we work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/bjork-is-one-of-my-oldest-friends-so-we-share-the-friendship-and/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [“I felt the heat of the animosity they bear towards me, the vindictive nature that drives a man to destroy his neighbour in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-felt-the-heat-of-the-animosity-they-bear-towards-me-the-vindictive/) [Sjón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I have to face questions like, "Do I simply write the best text I possibly can? Do I specifically engage with contemporary issues? 'Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-have-to-face-questions-like-do-i-simply-write-the-best-text-i/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I usually leave Reykavik for two to three weeks to go to the South Coast of Iceland where I have a small fisherman's hut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-usually-leave-reykavik-for-two-to-three-weeks-to-go-to-the-south/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I have seen the universe! It is made of poems!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-have-seen-the-universe-it-is-made-of-poems/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [Paul Beatty for "The Sellout" sounds like a relevant story for our times. It's playful, uses deep thought and seems to be taking advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/paul-beatty-for-the-sellout-sounds-like-a-relevant-story-for-our/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [ The option is always on the table. When we \[with Bjork\] were starting as creative kids in the Eighties, we found each other. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/the-option-is-always-on-the-table-when-we-with-bjork-were-starting-as/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I'm not one of those writers who writes everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/i-m-not-one-of-those-writers-who-writes-everyday/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) [Explore all 26 Sjón quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) ## More Knots quotes > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“What have you been doing to yourself, Belinda? Girl, you’ve got more knots in your shoulders than are listed in the Boy Scout handbook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-johnson/what-have-you-been-doing-to-yourself-belinda-girl-you-ve-got-more/) [Cat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-johnson/) > [Moderate Republicans are reverse Houdinis. They tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can’t do anything because they’re tied up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/moderate-republicans-are-reverse-houdinis-they-tie-themselves-up-in/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [My hairstylist taught me a trick for my hair. You section off your hair and put them up in these crazy little knots and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/my-hairstylist-taught-me-a-trick-for-my-hair-you-section-off-your/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Words got in the way. The things we felt the hardest--like what it was like to have a boy touch you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/words-got-in-the-way-the-things-we-felt-the-hardest-like-what-it-was/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [If my impressions are correct, our educational planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best of the men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-newcomb/if-my-impressions-are-correct-our-educational-planing-mill-cuts-down/) [Simon Newcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-newcomb/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [How to unravel the knot of reality? Slowly and patiently. You cannot run away from it. You cannot run towards it. Yet truth runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/how-to-unravel-the-knot-of-reality-slowly-and-patiently-you-cannot/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A lot of student directors used to pick other students to be in their graduate films, so. I ended up doing a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-austin-green/a-lot-of-student-directors-used-to-pick-other-students-to-be-in-their/) [Brian Austin Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-austin-green/) > [We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/we-look-at-life-from-the-back-side-of-the-tapestry-and-most-of-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Knots was about the relationships that were built over many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-van-ark/knots-was-about-the-relationships-that-were-built-over-many-years/) [Joan Van Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-van-ark/) [Browse all 300 Knots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And I would have answered: \"The knottier the branch, the more twisted and misshapen, the more bent people called it, the harder it is to find it a place among the smooth planks, the more people agree that it should be thrown on the fire, the more useless it is, the more unsuitable for anything except letting one's imagination run riot, the more I covet it, the more I yearn to weigh it in my hand, the more I long to let my whittling knife be guided by its knots and veins...Yes, bring that piece to me...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sjón" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-the-branch-the-more-twisted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knots" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-the-branch-the-more-twisted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/sjon-22692_life-and-living_and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-t_1907442.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I would have answered: \"The knottier the branch, the more twisted and misshapen, the more bent people…” — Sjón", "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": "Sjón", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And I would have answered: \"The...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-the-branch-the-more-twisted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/and-i-would-have-answered-the-knottier-the-branch-the-more-twisted/#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 } } ] } ```