---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need writers who know the difference…"
description: "\"We need writers who know the difference between the production of a commodity and the practice of an art.\" — Ursula K. Le Guin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg"
---

#  We need writers who know the difference between the…

![“We need writers who know the difference between the production of a commodity and the practice of an art.” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg)

> “We need writers who know the difference between the production of a commodity and the practice of an art.”

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote distinguishes between creating commercial products and practicing true art, urging writers to value artistic integrity over market demands.

**In simple terms:** Writers should focus on art, not just making money.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize creative purpose over profit.

Themes

art creativity commercialism integrity

Mood

thoughtful inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- publishing decisions
- educational curricula
- artist residencies

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory economics of culture authorial intent

Questions to Reflect On

- How can writers sustain themselves while staying true to art?
- What structures support artistic work without commercial pressure?

A Different Perspective

Balancing art and livelihood can be challenging for many creators.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Commodity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodity/) [Commodity Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodity-practice-6111063/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Need Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-writers-1095332/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Production Commodity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/production-commodity-6111062/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-know/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [I think hard times are coming when we will be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-think-hard-times-are-coming-when-we-will-be-wanting-the-voices-of/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Whenever they tell me children want this sort of book and children need this sort of writing, I am going to smile politely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/whenever-they-tell-me-children-want-this-sort-of-book-and-children/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [I think hard times are coming. We will need writers who can remember freedom. Poets, visionaries, the realists of a larger reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-think-hard-times-are-coming-we-will-need-writers-who-can-remember/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/a-writer-is-a-person-who-cares-what-words-mean-what-they-say-how-they/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [We need writers, we need to tell stories that include minority people, and then we won't have this discussion about Oscar so white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauletta-pearson-washington/we-need-writers-we-need-to-tell-stories-that-include-minority-people/)

[Pauletta Pearson Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauletta-pearson-washington/)

> [What we need to do, as writers, is find out where our market is and adapt to it. I'm not saying that you follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/what-we-need-to-do-as-writers-is-find-out-where-our-market-is-and/)

[John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/)

> [The writer isn't made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/the-writer-isn-t-made-in-a-vacuum-writers-are-witnesses-the-reason-we/)

[E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/)

> [“But my writing won’t ever reflect the diversity that literature in general should be capable of. You need writers whose lives are not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/but-my-writing-won-t-ever-reflect-the-diversity-that-literature-in/)

[John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/)

> [“Writers need readers and readers need writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-james/writers-need-readers-and-readers-need-writers/)

[Caroline James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-james/)

> [We need writers who fear nothing. ("Our Goal")](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/we-need-writers-who-fear-nothing-our-goal/)

[Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/)

> [The labour-power is a commodity , not capital, in the hands of the labourer, and it constitutes for him a revenue so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-labour-power-is-a-commodity-not-capital-in-the-hands-of-the/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [If success in selling is my primary interest, I am not primarily a writer, but a salesperson. If I teach success in selling as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-success-in-selling-is-my-primary-interest-i-am-not-primarily-a/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Art educates. That's why writers must know life. . .If the writer knows life, his work is often progressive, even though his own consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slawomir-mrozek/art-educates-that-s-why-writers-must-know-life-if-the-writer-knows/)

[slawomir mrozek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slawomir-mrozek/)

> [“We do not like the truth because it is simple, we do not want the truth because it is hard, and we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-walsh/we-do-not-like-the-truth-because-it-is-simple-we-do-not-want-the/)

[Pat Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-walsh/)

> [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

## More by Ursula K. Le Guin

> [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

[Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "We need writers who know the difference between the production of a commodity and the practice of an art.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference-between-the-production-of-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference-between-the-production-of-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference_1605139.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We need writers who know the difference between the production of a commodity and the practice of an art.” — Ursula K. Le Guin",
                "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": "Ursula K. Le Guin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We need writers who know the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference-between-the-production-of-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/we-need-writers-who-know-the-difference-between-the-production-of-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
