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Monthly Archives: December 2015
Who Are the People Most Opposed to Escapism? Jailors!
J. R. R. Tolkien? Arthur C. Clarke? C. S. Lewis? China Miéville? Michael Moorcock? Neil Gaiman Dear Quote Investigator: Today, the genres of science fiction and fantasy are ascendant in popular culture. But detractors have long complained that works in these domains are escapist, and critics have asserted that the literary values displayed are sharply …
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You Can Make a Killing in the Theater, But Not a Living
Robert Anderson? William Goodhart? Sam Taylor? Israel Horovitz? John Guare? Sherwood Anderson? Ron Dante? Norman Mailer? Dear Quote Investigator: Trying to build a career in the entertainment industry is precarious. One play, movie, or album might be a huge and lucrative hit for an artist, but the next project might be a complete money-losing bust. …
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The Joy That You Give to Others Is the Joy That Comes Back to You
John Greenleaf Whittier? Margaret E. Sangster? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I came across a heartfelt short poem titled “Happy New Year” containing the following line: The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. The verse was attributed to the prominent nineteenth-century poet John Greenleaf Whittier who died …
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They Will Not Let My Play Run, But Steal My Thunder
John Dennis? Alexander Pope? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: To steal someone’s thunder means to take an idea, a strategy, or a policy created by another person and use it advantageously. It can also mean to grab attention by anticipating and pre-empting the strategy of another. This figurative phrase supposedly originated with an angry remark made …
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I Don’t Suffer from Insanity; I Enjoy Every Minute of It!
Edgar Allan Poe? Edward Hastings Ford? Lloyd Biggle Jr.? Pat Williams? Joss Whedon? Bumper Sticker? T-Shirt Slogan? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement has been attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, the influential writer of detective fiction and the macabre: I don’t suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it! Poe died in 1849 …
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May You Live In Interesting Times
Chinese Curse? Austen Chamberlain? Frederic R. Coudert? Joseph Chamberlain? Diplomatic Staff? Albert Camus? Arthur C. Clarke? Robert F. Kennedy? Hillary Rodham Clinton? Question for Quote Investigator: The most fascinating periods in history were filled with tumult and upheaval. Tales of treachery, wars, and chaos provide compelling reading, but the participants who were living through the …
Nothing Can Be Accomplished Without Solitude
Pablo Picasso? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: To accomplish an arduous cerebral task it is necessary to avoid quotidian interruptions and achieve a deeper form of concentration. The remarkable painter Pablo Picasso has been credited with the following perceptive adage: Without great solitude no serious work is possible. This quotation is popular, but I have only …
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The Great Doesn’t Happen Through Impulse Alone, and Is a Succession of Little Things That Are Brought Together
Vincent van Gogh? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Several self-help books contain a statement about achieving magnificent results via an incremental approach. The saying is attributed to the brilliant and original painter Vincent van Gogh: Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. And great things are not …
The Four Most Beautiful Words in the English Language:
Gore Vidal? Stormont Mancroft? Gareth Williams? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation has been attributed to the writer and political commentator Gore Vidal: The four most beautiful words in the English language are ‘I told you so’. Was this statement crafted by Vidal? Quote Investigator: Gore Vidal did employ versions of this saying on …
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