"A writer is a spectator, looking at everything with a highly critical eye"

Bernard Malamud's quote suggests that writers are observers of the world around them, taking in all the details and evaluating them with an important eye. Writers are not passive observers, but rather active participants in the world, trying to find the stories and characters that will bring their work to life. Writers are constantly trying to find the much deeper significance in cases and people they experience, and they utilize their observations to produce stories that will resonate with readers. Writers are also acutely familiar with the power of words, and they utilize them to craft stories that will move and inspire their readers. Malamud's quote is a suggestion that writers are not just observers, however likewise active participants in the world, and that their work has the power to form the way we think and feel.