P. L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins stories, in The Paris Review No. 86 (Winter 1982)
“

You know C. S. Lewis, whom I greatly admire, said there's no such thing as creative writing. I've always agreed with that and always refuse to teach it when given the opportunity. He said there is, in fact, only one Creator and we mix. That's our function, to mix the elements He has given us. See how wonderfully anonymous that leaves us? You can't say, “I did this; this gross matrix of flesh and blood and sinews and nerves did this.” '''What nonsense! I'm given these things to make a pattern out of. Something gave it to me.

— P. L. Travers

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "You know C. S. Lewis, whom I greatly admire, said there's no such thing as creative writing. I've always agreed with that and always refuse to teach it when given the opportunity. He said there is, in fact, only one Creator and we mix. That's our function, to mix the elements He has given us. See how wonderfully anonymous that leaves us? You can't say, “I did this; this gross matrix of flesh and blood and sinews and nerves did this.” '''What nonsense! I'm given these things to make a pattern out of. Something gave it to me." in the context of "P. L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins stories, in The Paris Review No. 86 (Winter 1982)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "C. S. Lewis" (Quotes about Lewis) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
C. S. Lewis

About C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was an Irish author, scholar of medieval literature, and Christian apologist. He is best known for his essays on Christianity and for the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia.