Tracing Quotations
Hellen Keller? Anne Sullivan? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an inspirational saying about beginning a task again even when you fail. Eventually, you will accomplish your purpose although it may not be exactly the purpose with which you began. This notion has been attributed to Anne Sullivan who was the brilliant teacher of Helen …
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Dorothy Parker? Oscar Wilde? Alexandre Dumas? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While streaming an elaborately expensive television series I encountered a gratuitous scene with scanty clothing. I was reminded of this witticism: Nothing succeeds like undress. This quip has been attributed to Dorothy Parker. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark? Quote Investigator: The …
Alexandre Dumas? Ralph Waldo Emerson? William J. Snelling? Jacques-François Ancelot? Jules Janin? William Pulling? Alphonse de Lamartine? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: One success often leads to another success in a chain of achievement, opportunity, and good fortune. A popular adage expresses this idea: Nothing succeeds like success. This phrase has been attributed to several French …
Paul Robeson? William Shakespeare? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A prominent actor once discussed William Shakespeare’s tragic character Othello and said the following: There could be no greater character to play. This statement has been attributed to Paul Robeson. Would you please explore this topic. Quote Investigator: Paul Robeson played the character Othello in London in …
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Chuck Close? Stephen King? Philip Roth? Harvey Mackay? Mark Twain? Charles Schulz? Rosalyn Drexler? John Barkham? Nocona Burgess? Jill Elaine Hughes? Dear Quote Investigator: An artist must wait patiently for inspiration to occur according to a romanticized depiction of creativity. Yet, a successful professional artist offered the following contrary viewpoint: Inspiration is for amateurs. The …
Continue reading “Inspiration Is for Amateurs—The Rest of Us Just Show Up and Get To Work”
Lucy Maud Montgomery? Adelaide Anne Procter? Walt Whitman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery is best known for the children’s novel “Anne of Green Gables”. Apparently, she once made a powerful statement about transience, mortality, and memory: Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it. …
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Agatha Christie? Hercule Poirot? John Jortin? Maria Edgeworth? Richard Lovell? Letitia Elizabeth Landon? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Creativity and inventiveness are wonderful attributes, but an overly imaginative person is prone to self-deception. Here is a cogent adage: Imagination is a good servant, but a bad master. This saying as been attributed to the famous English …
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Dorothy Parker? John Keats? Richard L. Jenkins? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A prominent witty woman once described three qualities she desired in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid. This viewpoint has been ascribed to poet and critic Dorothy Parker. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker …
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Dorothy Parker? Franklin Pierce Adams? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The notable wit Dorothy Parker constructed several epitaphs. I am interested in the following: She is happy, for she knows That her dust is very pretty. This topic is confusing because I’ve also seen a different version of these lines: She is happy, for she knows …
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John Waters? Austin Kleon? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Building a library is an enjoyable lifelong pursuit. Intellectually engaged people are often bibliomaniacs. Yet, many acquired volumes are never read. This behavior has been condemned and praised in two radically different statements that differ by a single word: (1) Nothing is more impotent than an unread …
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