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I’ve got a new friend, all right. But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her, even though she is pretty and, of course, clever?

E. B. White

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
E. B. WHITE

Another Day Hang Hat Hope Tomorrow Wind
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
No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky.
E. B. WHITE

Come Country Live Lucky One Should Unless
A candidate could easily commit political suicide if he were to come up with an unconventional thought during a presidential tour.
E. B. WHITE

Candidate Come Commit During Easily Political Presential Suicide Tour Unconventional
Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people– people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.
E. B. WHITE

Alive Book Company Good Hiding Manage People Sad Stay Times
A writer’s style reveals something of his spirit, his habits, his capacites, his bias…it is the Self escaping into the open.
E. B. WHITE

Bias Capacities Escape Habit Open Reveal Self Something Style Writer
Old age is a special problem for me because I’ve never been able to shed the mental image I have of myself – a lad of about 19.
E. B. WHITE

Age Been Image Mental Myself never Nineteen Old Problem Shed Special
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
E. B. WHITE

Good Handy Humus Less More Nothing Sense Than Time
“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
In a man’s middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities.
E. B. WHITE

Authority Body Hesitate Man Middle Over Part Proper Scarcely
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WHITE

Clear Clearly Deal Good Main Make Reqrite Thing Write
Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.
E. B. WHITE

Luck Made Men Mention Presence Self Something
It is Sunday, mid-morning-Sunday in the living room, Sunday in the kitchen, Sunday in the woodshed, Sunday down the road in the village: I hear the bells, calling me to share God’s grace.
E. B. WHITE

Kitchen Living Morning Room Sunday Woodshed
We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.
E. B. WHITE

Anyone Born Eating Heaven Help Little Perhaps Something
Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have.
E. B. WHITE

Being Close Come Democracy Formal Itself Religion Some
One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
E. B. WHITE

Consume Enemy Great One Thing Time
Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.
E. B. WHITE

Children Country Dearly Ever Forget Grandmother never New None People Peron Quote Spider
I am often mad, but I would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value I may have as a writer if I were to refuse, as a matter of principle, to accept the warming rays of the sun, and to report them, whenever, and if ever, they
E. B. WHITE

Amd Lose Mad Nothing Often Think Winter
There is nothing harder to estimate than a writer’s time, nothing harder to keep track of. There are moments—moments of sustained creation—when his time is fairly valuable; and there are hours and hours when a writer’s time isn’t worth the paper he is not writing anything on.
E. B. WHITE

Estimate Harder Keep Nothing Of Time Track
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.
E. B. WHITE

Barber Chair Drop Enter Magazine Men Most Notice Pick Shop Wait
The best writing is rewriting.
E. B. WHITE

Best Rewriting Write
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
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
E. B. WHITE

Arise Between Desire Enjoy Morning World
Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society – things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed.
E. B. WHITE

Bluffer Expression Great Guess Human Sailor Same Society True Weather
Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They’ll believe anything they see in print.
E. B. WHITE

Belief Country Gullible People Person Print See Trust
No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.
E. B. WHITE

Attitude Decently Distrustful Intelligence Patronizing Reader Write
Use the smallest word that does the job.
E. B. WHITE

Job Smallest Use Word

I’ve got a new friend, all right. But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her, even though she is pretty and, of course, clever?

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I’ve got a new friend, all right. But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her, even though she is pretty and, of course, clever?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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