Patrick O’Connor? Stella Adler? Edward Fuller? Elizabeth Hodgson? Irving Babbitt? Margaret Harford? Jed Harris? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Living authors are often viewed with a mixture of suspicion and aggravation. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage:
(1) The only good author is a dead author.
(2) All good authors are dead authors.
(3) The best author is a dead author.
Interestingly, this adage has two different meanings. Publishers and editors use the adage to encapsulate a collection of complaints about writers, e.g., late manuscripts, poor quality writing, and exorbitant monetary demands.
Academics and critics use the adage to signal that a delay is required when evaluating the worthiness of a writer. Typically, the quality, impact, and longevity of a literary oeuvre can only be accurately judged many years after the author has died.
Would you please explore the provenance of this adage?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI in the domain of publishing and editing appeared on September 29, 1886. Anonymous editors received credit. The earliest match in the domain of criticism and academia appeared on May 29, 1895. The attribution was anonymous. Here is an overview showing selected examples together with dates and attributions:
1886 Sep 29: … they will not pay a man for manuscript unless he will agree to die before it is put in print. This precaution is taken so that the author can’t come in afterward and “cuss” about the bad proofreading. Also on the theory that the only really good author is a dead one. (Attributed to anonymous “western editors”)
1895 May 29: We must not conclude that all good books are old books, nor that all good authors are dead authors. (Anonymous)
1903 Feb: It is unnecessary to assume, of course, that the only good authors are dead authors. Undue depreciation of the literature of the day may be quite as futile as undue approval … (Edward Fuller)
1906 Sep 20: From the teacher’s point of view one is tempted to lay down the rule that the only good authors are dead authors. (Irving Babbitt)
1916 Apr 22: It is a mistake to suppose that the only good authors are dead ones. Some colleges have fostered the idea that literary genius is extinct. (A. S. Mackenzie)
1919 May: They were often bookworms that had bored their way through countless musty volumes, it being their first axiom that the only good author is a dead author. (Attitude ascribed to “old college professors” by Elizabeth Hodgson)
1921 May: There have always been—there will always be—people like Mr. Knox, who feel that the only good author is a dead author, and the only good story an unpopular story. (Attitude ascribed to Vicesimus Knox by an unnamed writer)
1941 Mar 19: The best author is a dead author—at least from the point of view of scholarship. (Attributed to William Y. Tindall)
1958 Jan 10: The only good author is a dead author. (Attributed to Jed Harris by Thornton Wilder)
1970 Apr 19: Ignoring the old saw that “the best author is a dead author,” playwright Brian Friel showed up, very much alive, to maneuver some minor, last-minute changes in his new play, “Crystal & Fox”. (“Old saw” according to Margaret Harford)
1971: When a publisher says that the best authors are dead authors, he means that the latter cannot torment him by being late with their manuscripts, demanding more money, threatening to go off to another publisher, or telephoning him in the middle of the night. (Publisher’s saying according to Anthony Blond)
1972 Spring: Students of twentieth century literature are familiar with the classical position of Academia: namely, the only good author is a dead author. (“Classical position of Academia” according to Eugenia N. Zimmerman)
1975 May 4: We have a motto. It’s that the only good author is a dead author. (“A motto” according to Patrick O’Connor)
1993 Aug 23: The only good author is one who’s been dead at least 100 years. (Attributed to anonymous education reformers)
2008 May 29: The best author is a dead author. He can’t stand around at the rehearsals, watching and making everybody nervous. (Attributed to Stella Adler by Barry Paris)
Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.
On September 29,1886, the “Springfield Globe-Republic” of Springfield, Ohio printed the adage while crediting anonymous editors from the western U.S.:1
Some western editors are establishing a rule to the effect that they will not pay a man for manuscript unless he will agree to die before it is put in print. This precaution is taken so that the author can’t come in afterward and “cuss” about the bad proofreading. Also on the theory that the only really good author is a dead one.
On May 29, 1895, “Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette” of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the adage appeared in an unsigned column titled “The Quiet Observer”. The domain was criticism, and the columnist disagreed with the adage:2
Much has been written about old books of late, and much more will be written and thought about them if we may depend upon the signs of the times, but we must not conclude that all good books are old books, nor that all good authors are dead authors. There are a few left.
The common complaint is that there are too many books. The great encyclopedias have grown too large for convenient handling.
In February 1903 “The Atlantic Monthly” published an article titled “Real Forces in Literature” by Edward Fuller which contained the adage:3
It is unnecessary to assume, of course, that the only good authors are dead authors. Undue depreciation of the literature of the day may be quite as futile as undue approval, though it is apt to be less mischievous in its effects. But it would certainly be well for those who trumpet so loudly the praises of the favorite of the moment to remember that there were emperors before Cesar.
In 1906 “The Nation” magazine published “Literature and the Doctor’s Degree” by Irving Babbitt of Harvard University. Babbitt employed the adage:4
From the lists of books read in schools and college and from publishers’ catalogues one might infer that what is now taking the place of the masterpieces of Greece and Rome is a hodgepodge of second-rate French and German novels. Even the best judges are impressionists in dealing with contemporaries; so that from the teacher’s point of view one is tempted to lay down the rule that the only good authors are dead authors.
In 1916 the “Lexington Leader” reported on a meeting of the Kentucky Educational Association during which Dr. A. S. Mackenzie of the University of Kentucky delivered a speech containing the saying:5
Dr. Mackenzie defended modern classics, He said: “It is a mistake to suppose that the only good authors are dead ones. Some colleges have fostered the idea that literary genius is extinct.
“Too often, in presenting classics to the pupils, the English teacher conveys the impression that standard works are specimens of literature preserved in cold storage.
In 1919 “The Kansas Teacher” published a piece by Elizabeth Hodgson which contained the adage:6
At the other extreme from these untrained, extemporaneous teachers of English were the old college professors of the classical type. They were often bookworms that had bored their way through countless musty volumes, it being their first axiom that the only good author is a dead author. Like wine, cheese, and violins, books had to be very old to be worth anything.
In 1921 “Cosmopolitan” magazine printed a piece which ascribed the attitude embodied in the adage to 18th century figure Vicesimus Knox:7
Mr. Knox was short-sighted. He failed to realize that when authors win the love and admiration of vast numbers of people it is because they are good authors and not because the public has poor taste.
There have always been—there will always be—people like Mr. Knox, who feel that the only good author is a dead author, and the only good story an unpopular story.
In 1941 “The Evening Sun” of Baltimore, Maryland printed an article which discussed the viewpoint of academic William Y. Tindall:8
The best author is a dead author—at least from the point of view of scholarship. So William Y. Tindall, author of “D. H. Lawrence and Susan His Cow” and member of the English department, indicates. Tindall has something to say about the difficulties scholars encounter when they attempt to study certain living authors.
In 1958 a popular columnist discussed prominent U.S. playwright and novelist Thornton Wilde. The CBS television network created a program based on Thorton’s novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”. Thornton did not wish to interfere with the production. Thornton mentioned the adage which he credited to theatrical producer Jed Harris:9
Thornton Wilder refused to be a “difficult” playwright in CBS’ TV presentation of “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.” Remembering that Producer Jed Harris once said, “The only good author is a dead author,” Wilder declared, “I’m trying to be as near that as possible.”
In 1970 the “Los Angeles Times” of California printed an article by journalist Margaret Harford in which she referred to the adage as an “old saw”:10
Ignoring the old saw that “the best author is a dead author,” playwright Brian Friel showed up, very much alive, to maneuver some minor, last-minute changes in his new play, “Crystal & Fox,” before it opened recently for the first time anywhere at the Mark Taper Forum.
In 1972 Eugenia N. Zimmerman published an article in the journal “Mosaic: A Journal for the Comparative Study of Literature and Ideas”. Zimmerman stated that the saying reflected a “classical position of Academia”:11
Students of twentieth century literature are familiar with the classical position of Academia: namely, the only good author is a dead author. Such an attitude is understandable. A living author is dangerous, since he may, at any moment, send crashing down about their ears the cherished, yet problematic, constructions of his interpreters.
In 1975 “The New York Times” reported that publisher Patrick O’Connor employed the saying:12
“We have a motto.” Patrick O’Connor, head of Popular Library Publishers, remarked one day at lunch. “It’s that the only good author is a dead author.”
“Oh, you don’t mean that!” Esther Margolis of Bantam Books, Inc., exclaimed in horror.
In 1981 the columnist Liz Smith attributed the saying to Patrick O’Connor:13
“The only good author is a dead author,” jokes Pat O’Connor of Pinnacle Books as quoted in Lyle Stuart’s “Hot News!” publishing letter.
In 1993 “USA Today” published an opinion piece by teacher Susan Ohanian who mentioned a variant of the saying:14
I worry about people who scream for something they call standards in the schools and then try to convince kids that the only good author is one who’s been dead at least 100 years.
In 2008 the “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette” of Pennsylvania attributed the saying to the famous acting teacher Stella Adler:15
“The best author is a dead author,” Stella Adler once told her acting class. “He can’t stand around at the rehearsals, watching and making everybody nervous.”
In conclusion, this adage entered circulation by September 1886. The earliest instance was in the domain of publishing and editing. The first match in the domain of criticism and academia appeared on May 29, 1895. The creators of both instances were anonymous. In 1903 Edward Fuller employed the saying, and numerous people have used the adage during subsequent decades.
Image Notes: Picture of books containing works by famous dead authors. The image has been cropped and resized. Picture by Kelly Sikkema.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to linguist Jesse Sheidlower whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Sheidlower mentioned the two different meanings of the adage.
- 1886 September 29, Springfield Globe-Republic, (Untitled short article), Quote Page 2, Column 1, Springfield, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1895 May 29, Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, The Quiet Observer, Quote Page 4, Column 3, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1903 February, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 91, Number 544, Real Forces in Literature by Edward Fuller, Start Page 270, Quote Page 272 and 273, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1906 September 20, The Nation, Volume 83, Number 2151, Literature and the Doctor’s Degree by Irving Babbitt (Harvard University), Start Page 238, Quote Page 239, Column 2, The Nation, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1916 April 22, Lexington Leader, Local Teachers Had Active Part, Quote Page 3, Column 5, Lexington, Kentucky. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1919 May, The Kansas Teacher, Official Organ of the Kansas State Teacher’s Association, Volume 9, Number 1, New Tools for the New Tasks by Elizabeth Hodgson (Wichita, Kansas), Quote Page 10, Column 2, Topeka, Kansas. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1921 May, Cosmopolitan, Volume 70, Number 5, Poor Old Mr. Knox, Start Page 12, Quote Page 12, Column 3, International Magazine Company, New York. (Verified with scans) link ↩︎
- 1941 March 19, The Evening Sun, Some Sour Notes On Literary Gents, Note: From the Pleasures of Publishing, a weekly circular of the Columbia University, Section 2, Quote Page 18, Column 3, Baltimore, Maryland. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1958 January 10, Courier-Post, It Happened Last Night by Earl Wilson, Quote Page 13, Column 1, Camden, New Jersey. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1970 April 19, The Los Angeles Times, Section: Calendar, Friel Jousts With the Melarkey Malarkey by Margaret Harford, Quote Page 56, Column 1, Los Angeles, California. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1972 Spring, Mosaic: A Journal for the Comparative Study of Literature and Ideas, Volume 5, Issue 3, La Nausée and the Avators of Being by Eugenia N. Zimmerman, Start Page 151, Quote Page 151, University of Manitoba Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1975 May 4, New York Times, When the Book Trade Met in Appalachia by Mary Breasted, Quote Page 58, Column 2, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1981 October 6, Daily News, Checking the books on book revenues by Liz Smith, Quote Page 8, Column 1, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1993 August 23, USA Today, Have you read any good books lately by Susan Ohanian (Teacher in Schenectady, New York), Quote Page 9A, Column 3 and 4, Gannett Company Inc., Arlington, Virginia. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 2008 May 29, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Godard flashes humor, Bardot’s body in ‘Contempt’ by Barry Paris (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Quote Page W-20, Column 4, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎