"And out of a desire essentially to imitate what I was reading, I began to write, like a clever monkey"
About this Quote
Then comes the barb: “like a clever monkey.” It’s self-deprecating, but not merely cute. The phrase smuggles in a whole argument about class and legitimacy. Banks, a writer often associated with working-class American lives, hints at the outsider’s suspicion that he’s trespassing in a room built for other people. The monkey is the one performing a trick for an audience, trying to pass as human, trying to master a language that wasn’t “his.” Calling himself “clever” acknowledges skill; calling himself a “monkey” acknowledges how that skill can still feel secondhand, learned under the gaze of gatekeepers.
The intent isn’t to belittle writing; it’s to demystify it. Banks positions imitation as the necessary early stage of craft, the way musicians learn by covers and painters by copying masters. Subtextually, he’s also defending the right to enter literature through the side door: by reading obsessively, by borrowing, by trying on voices until one fits. It’s an origin tale with bite: the making of a writer as an act of audacious, unromantic theft that slowly becomes a claim.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Banks, Russell. (2026, January 15). And out of a desire essentially to imitate what I was reading, I began to write, like a clever monkey. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-out-of-a-desire-essentially-to-imitate-what-i-151340/
Chicago Style
Banks, Russell. "And out of a desire essentially to imitate what I was reading, I began to write, like a clever monkey." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-out-of-a-desire-essentially-to-imitate-what-i-151340/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And out of a desire essentially to imitate what I was reading, I began to write, like a clever monkey." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-out-of-a-desire-essentially-to-imitate-what-i-151340/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
