Writing is both mask and unveiling.
E. B. WHITETo achieve style, begin by affecting none.
More E. B. White Quotes
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No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.
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An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.
E. B. WHITE -
Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.
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From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting. . . . On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.
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Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They’ll believe anything they see in print.
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A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. … A writer has the duty to be good, not lousy: true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down.
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Is there anything in the universe more beautiful and protective than the simple complexity of a spider’s web?
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I am reminded of the advice of my neighbor. “Never worry about your heart till it stops beating.
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Stuart rose from the ditch, climbed into his car, and started up the road that led toward the north…As he peeked ahead into the great land that stretched before him, the way seemed long. But the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction.
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Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
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I have noticed that most men when they enter a barber shop and must wait their turn, drop into a chair and pick up a magazine. I simply sit down and pick up the thread of my sea wanderings, which began more than fifty years ago and is not quite ended.
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Understanding humor is like dissecting a live frog. It can be done, but the frog tends to die in the process.
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Oh, I never look under the hood.
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It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.
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I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.
E. B. WHITE