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A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.

E. B. White

A poet’s pleasure is to withhold a little of his meaning, to intensify by mystification. He unzips the veil from beauty, but does not remove it.
E. B. WHITE

Intensify Meaning Mystification Pleasure Poet Withhold
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
E. B. WHITE

Communication Creative Escape Open Revelation Self Write Writing
To achieve style, begin by affecting none.
E. B. WHITE

Archive Being Effect None Style
“What are they, and where are you?” screamed Wilbur. “Please, please, tell me where you are. And what are salutations?” “Salutations are greetings,” said the voice. “When I say ‘salutations,’ it’s just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.
E. B. WHITE

Fancy Good Morning Salutation Scream What
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.
E. B. WHITE

Absorb Concern Heart Himself Stir Typewriter Writer
It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him, depending a good deal on luck.
E. B. WHITE

Deal Depend Destroy Fulfill Individual Luck
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.
E. B. WHITE

Comfort Familiar Kitchen Morning Most Night Sound Till
Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.
E. B. WHITE

Luck Made Men Mention Presence Self Something
A poem compresses much in a small space and adds music, thus heightening its meaning.
E. B. WHITE

Add Compress Heihhening Mean Much Music Poem Small Space
Understanding humor is like dissecting a live frog. It can be done, but the frog tends to die in the process.
E. B. WHITE

Die Dissecting Done Frog Humor Live Process Tend Understanding
When I get sick of what men do, I have only to walk a few steps in another direction to see what spiders do. Or what the weather does. This sustains me very well indeed.
E. B. WHITE

Another Direction Do Get Men Only Sick Spider Step Walk
Is there anything in the universe more beautiful and protective than the simple complexity of a spider’s web?
E. B. WHITE

Anything Universal Beautiful Complexity Protective Simple Spider Web
Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.
E. B. WHITE

Democracy Half More Person Recruitment Suspicion Time
There’s no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.
E. B. WHITE

Account Another Complicated Lead Limit Thing
A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.
E. B. WHITE

Condition Ideal Paper Put Wait Without Word Work Writer
When an American family becomes separated from its toothbrushes and combs and pajamas for a few hours it considers that it has had quite an adventure.
E. B. WHITE

Become Comb Consider Country Family Few Hour Pajama Separate Toothbrush

A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.

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A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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