"Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm"
About this Quote
The smartest move is the refusal of imitation. Lively acknowledges the obvious anxiety of influence only to disarm it: she returns to certain writers “not so much because I want to write like them” and then lands the kicker, “even if I were capable of it.” That self-deprecation reads as social grace, but it’s also a declaration of artistic sovereignty. Great prose isn’t a costume you borrow; it’s a metabolism you build. Her rereading is about recalibration, not mimicry.
“Stylistic shot in the arm” is deliberately un-mystical. Style, in her telling, isn’t a sacred gift; it’s energy, circulation, a bodily jolt. The subtext is almost workmanlike: when the sentences go slack, you seek out writers who tighten your sense of possibility. It’s also a quiet map of Lively’s literary generation: shaped by tradition, skeptical of posturing, and keenly aware that craft is sustained by returning to what still startles you into clarity.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lively, Penelope. (2026, January 15). Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-160729/
Chicago Style
Lively, Penelope. "Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-160729/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-160729/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
