It is worth remembering that every writer begins with a naively physical notion of what art is. A book for him or her is not an expression or a series of expressions, but literally a volume, a prism with six rectangular sides made of thin sheets of papers which should include a cover, an inside cover, an epigraph in italics, a preface, nine or ten parts with some verses at the beginning, a table of contents, an ex libris with an hourglass and a Latin phrase, a brief list of errata, some blank pages, a colophon and a publication notice: objects that are known to constitute the art of writing.

Summary

This quote highlights the initial understanding and perception that writers have towards their craft. It emphasizes that writers often begin with a simplistic and physical concept of what art means to them. Instead of perceiving a book as a medium of artistic expression, the quote portrays it as a tangible object—a prism made of paper sheets with various components like a cover, preface, table of contents, and more. This simplistic understanding serves as a reminder of how writers may view their work in a practical and tangible manner, explicit in the physical components that constitute the art of writing.

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