Susan Sontag is recorded using this saying in Charles Ruas’s 1982 profile. It was already in print in 1976, according to Quote Investigator’s documented research, so the evidence supports her use rather than a claim that she invented it.
“Writing well is the best revenge” Used by Susan Sontag in a 1982 Charles Ruas profile; the saying is documented earlier in 1976. Original coiner unknown.
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In context
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Provenance
The source
Sontag’s documented use
Charles Ruas profile, New York Times Book Review, 24 October 1982
Earlier evidence
Alix Nelson and Ross Macdonald, 1976, documented by QI
Anne Ruggles Gere’s own publication list records a 1978 article with the saying as its title, independently establishing another use before Sontag’s 1982 profile; the article itself was not inspected.
The quoted English phrase is documented in modern copyrighted publications. The brief identifying excerpt does not reproduce the surrounding interview.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Context
Why it mattered
In the profile, Sontag is discussing the hostile response to her comments about communism and her desire to return to writing a novel. The quip expresses a response to that immediate controversy, but its earlier printed appearances make it unsafe to present it as a saying she coined.
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Susan Sontag wrote criticism, fiction and essays about photography, illness, art and politics. Her collections Against Interpretation and On Photography made her a prominent public intellectual, while her political interventions frequently drew public argument.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Ruas, Charles. “Susan Sontag: Past, Present and Future.” New York Times Book Review, 24 October 1982, p. 11; reproduced online. Earlier uses documented by Quote Investigator.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Writing well is the best revenge’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/writing-well-is-the-best-revenge/