---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Occasionally I write a small piece or the…"
description: "\"Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in English, and I teach in English, but my fiction is always written in German.\" — W. G. Sebald"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png"
---

#  Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in…

![“Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in English, and I teach in English, but my fiction is always written in German.” quote by W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png)

> “Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in English, and I teach in English, but my fiction is always written in German.”

[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.

He writes fiction in German despite teaching and lecturing in English, highlighting linguistic choice.

**In simple terms:** He writes fiction in German.

Key Takeaway

Choose language that best serves your art.

Themes

language identity artistic choice

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

literary cultural

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- translation studies
- academic lectures

Key Concepts

Bilingualism cultural expression

Questions to Reflect On

- Why choose a non‑native language for art?
- How does language shape narrative?

A Different Perspective

Language barriers may limit audience reach.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [German](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german/)

## Related quotes

> [I've never really suffered complete and utter writer's block, really. I equate it with sex: in the beginning of my career, I was writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loudon-wainwright-iii/i-ve-never-really-suffered-complete-and-utter-writer-s-block-really-i/)

[Loudon Wainwright III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loudon-wainwright-iii/)

> [So far no one had had enough courage and intelligence to reveal me to my dear Germans. My problems are new, my psychological horizon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/so-far-no-one-had-had-enough-courage-and-intelligence-to-reveal-me-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“By our warriors having a written German language, we can rob the Romans of the advantages that they currently hold over us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-kramer/by-our-warriors-having-a-written-german-language-we-can-rob-the/)

[Michael G. Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-kramer/)

> [I write a column for The Village Voice, which I've done since time immemorial, and occasionally - and books. And I occasionally write minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-write-a-column-for-the-village-voice-which-i-ve-done-since-time/)

[Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/)

> [I bullshit on the phone all day with a variety of people discussing various projects, and occasionally write jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-madrigal/i-bullshit-on-the-phone-all-day-with-a-variety-of-people-discussing/)

[Al Madrigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-madrigal/)

> [“(I also occasionally write poems, after first explaining carefully to the audience and myself that I am not a poet and this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-kingfisher/i-also-occasionally-write-poems-after-first-explaining-carefully-to/)

[T. Kingfisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-kingfisher/)

> [When I'm writing in my bedroom, in a bar, at my kitchen table or wherever, I'm conjuring it all up on the page. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/when-i-m-writing-in-my-bedroom-in-a-bar-at-my-kitchen-table-or/)

[Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/)

> [Everybody should read fiction… I don’t think serious fiction is written for a few people. I think we live in a stupid culture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-everett/everybody-should-read-fiction-i-don-t-think-serious-fiction-is/)

[Percival Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-everett/)

> [“Fiction though it is a fiction, should be written in a way that it feels like a reality, a reality every reader willingly or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arti-honrao/fiction-though-it-is-a-fiction-should-be-written-in-a-way-that-it/)

[Arti Honrao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arti-honrao/)

> [“When pondering who I am, I write the fiction that I want directly over the facts that I hate. However, what I’ve discovered is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/when-pondering-who-i-am-i-write-the-fiction-that-i-want-directly-over/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [“Lots of women read fiction. Most men don't. Women read fiction written by women and by men. Most men don't. If a man opens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/lots-of-women-read-fiction-most-men-don-t-women-read-fiction-written/)

[Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/)

> [Dialogue in fiction is always written to be read in silence. The page is the limit. Dialogue on stage and on the screen is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/dialogue-in-fiction-is-always-written-to-be-read-in-silence-the-page/)

[Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/)

> [I couldn't think of anything more pointless than reading a piece of fiction written by a robot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-couldn-t-think-of-anything-more-pointless-than-reading-a-piece-of/)

[Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/)

> [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/income-tax-returns-are-the-most-imaginative-fiction-being-written/)

[Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/)

## 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/)

> [Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-largely-by-my-very-promiscuous/)

[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/)

[Explore all 65 W. G. Sebald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/)

## More Always quotes

> [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/)

[Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/)

[William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/)

[Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/)

> [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/)

[Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/)

> [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/)

[Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/)

> [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/)

[Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/)

> [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/)

[Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/)

> [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/)

[Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/)

[Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/)

> [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/)

[Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/)

> [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/)

[Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/)

Browse all 36,048 Always quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in English, and I teach in English, but my fiction is always written in German.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W. G. Sebald"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-the-odd-lecture-in-english-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Always"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-the-odd-lecture-in-english-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/w-g-sebald-10441_always_occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-th_827660.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Occasionally I write a small piece or the odd lecture in English, and I teach in English, but my fiction is…” — W. G. Sebald",
                "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": "W. G. Sebald",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Occasionally I write a small piece...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-the-odd-lecture-in-english-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/occasionally-i-write-a-small-piece-or-the-odd-lecture-in-english-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```