--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mine is a European imagination, shaped…" description: "\"Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.\" — W. G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/w-g-sebald-10441_creativity_mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-la_336352.png" --- # Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very… ![“Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.” quote by W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/w-g-sebald-10441_creativity_mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-la_336352.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/w-g-sebald-10441_creativity_mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-la_336352.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/w-g-sebald-10441_creativity_mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-la_336352.png) > “Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.” [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes a European worldview formed through extensive, diverse reading across several languages, indicating cultural hybridity. **In simple terms:** Reading many languages shaped a mixed European view. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse sources to broaden perspective. Themes culture literature identity multilingualism Mood introspective curious Type literary cultural When to use this quote - education - travel - creative writing - cross‑cultural communication - personal development Key Concepts intertextuality cultural hybridity Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from a multilingual literary diet? - How does this reading shape your sense of belonging? A Different Perspective It may underplay the depth of each individual culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [German](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Italian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/italian/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Spanish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spanish/) ## Related quotes > [Promiscuous reading is necessary to the constituting of human nature. The attempt to keep out evil doctrine by licensing is like the exploit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/promiscuous-reading-is-necessary-to-the-constituting-of-human-nature/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [All my words are sort of shaped, all my words, my voice, my gestures, my imagination, are shaped by centuries, really. They are educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-rohrwacher/all-my-words-are-sort-of-shaped-all-my-words-my-voice-my-gestures-my/) [Alice Rohrwacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-rohrwacher/) > [I learned to say 'hello' in German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Indonesian, and Italian - languages of the countries I've visited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzuka-nakamoto/i-learned-to-say-hello-in-german-french-spanish-dutch-chinese/) [Suzuka Nakamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzuka-nakamoto/) > [ I can read Spanish, German, Italian, and French¦ as long as its written in English :\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/i-can-read-spanish-german-italian-and-french-as-long-as-its-written/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [I speak five languages: English, Swedish, French, Italian, and German.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/i-speak-five-languages-english-swedish-french-italian-and-german/) [Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/) > [I speak fluent Spanish. I also speak Italian and I was once pretty decent at German.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/i-speak-fluent-spanish-i-also-speak-italian-and-i-was-once-pretty/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [Not German, I beg your majesty. Italian is the proper language for opera. All educated people agree on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-german-i-beg-your-majesty-italian-is-the-proper-language-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I understand German; I can read German.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/i-understand-german-i-can-read-german/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [I can speak a little German, a little Spanish, and I was a psych major, so I'm good at listening to people's problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/i-can-speak-a-little-german-a-little-spanish-and-i-was-a-psych-major/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [German and Spanish are accessible to foreigners: English is not accessible even to Englishmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/german-and-spanish-are-accessible-to-foreigners-english-is-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Serious drama in a significant degree began at Harvard in the 1880s. In 1881, the Cercle Francais initiated the annual French play, and shortly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-lukas/serious-drama-in-a-significant-degree-began-at-harvard-in-the-1880s/) [J. Anthony Lukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-lukas/) > [I have always been considered to be the most German among Italian economists, which I always received as a compliment, but was rarely meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-monti/i-have-always-been-considered-to-be-the-most-german-among-italian/) [Mario Monti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-monti/) > [I speak Farsi, German, Dari, and I understand Turkish, but I haven't used it since 1985, so I'm a bit rusty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navid-negahban/i-speak-farsi-german-dari-and-i-understand-turkish-but-i-haven-t-used/) [Navid Negahban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navid-negahban/) > [I watch the Premier League, the Spanish and Dutch leagues, and a little bit of the German league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-van-gaal/i-watch-the-premier-league-the-spanish-and-dutch-leagues-and-a-little/) [Louis van Gaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-van-gaal/) > [I studied classical opera, so I was always singing in Italian and German and French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-leehom/i-studied-classical-opera-so-i-was-always-singing-in-italian-and/) [Wang Leehom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-leehom/) ## More by W. G. Sebald > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [“In the warmer months of the year one or other of those nocturnal insects quite often strays indoors from the small garden behind my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/in-the-warmer-months-of-the-year-one-or-other-of-those-nocturnal/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [“It is a sore point, because you do have advantages if you have access to more than one language. You also have problems, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/it-is-a-sore-point-because-you-do-have-advantages-if-you-have-access/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [When I was a boy, I'd hide under the kitchen table and wind string around the chairs. I have a sense now that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/when-i-was-a-boy-i-d-hide-under-the-kitchen-table-and-wind-string/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I've always felt that the traditional novel doesn't give you enough information about the narrator, and I think it's important to know the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-traditional-novel-doesn-t-give-you-enough/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I came from anonymity, and I will continue to write as a private pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-came-from-anonymity-and-i-will-continue-to-write-as-a-private/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [The longer I carry on, the more difficult writing seems to get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/the-longer-i-carry-on-the-more-difficult-writing-seems-to-get/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I don't want to talk about my trials and tribulations. Once you reveal even part of what your real problems might be in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-don-t-want-to-talk-about-my-trials-and-tribulations-once-you-reveal/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I was brought up largely by my grandfather because my father only returned from a prisoner-of-war camp in 1947 and worked in the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-was-brought-up-largely-by-my-grandfather-because-my-father-only/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Places seem to me to have some kind of memory, in that they activate memory in those who look at them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/places-seem-to-me-to-have-some-kind-of-memory-in-that-they-activate/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/men-and-animals-regard-each-other-across-a-gulf-of-mutual/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [It must be extremely uncomfortable to live with a writer - all that preoccupation and brooding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/it-must-be-extremely-uncomfortable-to-live-with-a-writer-all-that/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [“This, I thought, will be what is left after the earth has ground itself down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/this-i-thought-will-be-what-is-left-after-the-earth-has-ground-itself/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I cannot get over the fact that I was born in 1944. I want to find out as much as I can about that year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-cannot-get-over-the-fact-that-i-was-born-in-1944-i-want-to-find-out/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [At the most we gaze at it in wonder, a kind of wonder which in itself is a form of dawning horror, for somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/at-the-most-we-gaze-at-it-in-wonder-a-kind-of-wonder-which-in-itself/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) [Explore all 65 W. G. Sebald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [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/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. G. 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