"There's nothing to stop a man from writing unless that man stops himself. If a man truly desires to write, then he will. Rejection and ridicule will only strengthen him. And the longer he is held back the stronger he will become, like a mass of rising water against a dam. There is no losing in writing, it will make your toes laugh as you sleep, it will make you stride like a tiger, it will fire the eye and put you face to face with death. You will die a fighter, you will be honored in hell. The luck of the word. Go with it, send it"
About this Quote
The subtext is even more blunt: rejection is not an obstacle, it’s the training regimen. The dam metaphor turns frustration into pressure, pressure into force. It flatters the marginalized writer by recasting their stalled ambitions as stored power. Bukowski is also myth-making here, turning the solitary act of writing into a gladiatorial identity: “stride like a tiger”, “face to face with death”. It’s macho, excessive, and intentionally ridiculous - a performance of toughness aimed at people who feel small.
Context matters. Bukowski came up in the pulp ecosystem - little magazines, cheap paper, constant dismissal - and built a legend on endurance and contempt for polite literary culture. “Honored in hell” isn’t just a punchline; it’s a badge: if the respectable world won’t validate you, then take pride in being ungovernable. The final imperative, “Go with it, send it”, is the whole Bukowski ethic in two words: stop polishing your misery into permission slips. Put the work on the page and let it take its chances.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bukowski, Charles. (2026, February 10). There's nothing to stop a man from writing unless that man stops himself. If a man truly desires to write, then he will. Rejection and ridicule will only strengthen him. And the longer he is held back the stronger he will become, like a mass of rising water against a dam. There is no losing in writing, it will make your toes laugh as you sleep, it will make you stride like a tiger, it will fire the eye and put you face to face with death. You will die a fighter, you will be honored in hell. The luck of the word. Go with it, send it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-nothing-to-stop-a-man-from-writing-unless-185193/
Chicago Style
Bukowski, Charles. "There's nothing to stop a man from writing unless that man stops himself. If a man truly desires to write, then he will. Rejection and ridicule will only strengthen him. And the longer he is held back the stronger he will become, like a mass of rising water against a dam. There is no losing in writing, it will make your toes laugh as you sleep, it will make you stride like a tiger, it will fire the eye and put you face to face with death. You will die a fighter, you will be honored in hell. The luck of the word. Go with it, send it." FixQuotes. February 10, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-nothing-to-stop-a-man-from-writing-unless-185193/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There's nothing to stop a man from writing unless that man stops himself. If a man truly desires to write, then he will. Rejection and ridicule will only strengthen him. And the longer he is held back the stronger he will become, like a mass of rising water against a dam. There is no losing in writing, it will make your toes laugh as you sleep, it will make you stride like a tiger, it will fire the eye and put you face to face with death. You will die a fighter, you will be honored in hell. The luck of the word. Go with it, send it." FixQuotes, 10 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-nothing-to-stop-a-man-from-writing-unless-185193/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
