Quote Investigator® – Page 83

Quote Origin: Style Is the Stuff You Get Wrong

Neil Gaiman? Jerry Garcia? Elizabeth McCracken? Robert Burton? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: I have heard two fascinating adages about artistic style:

Style is the stuff you can’t help doing.
Style is the stuff you get wrong.

Both statements were made by the prominent fantasist Neil Gaiman who writes short stories, novels, comic books, and screenplays. Yet, Gaiman credited both phrases to acclaimed guitarist Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead rock band. Would you please examine this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in an interview of Neil Gaiman conducted by journalist Joe McCabe at the Boskone science fiction convention in February 2002. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

I know Jerry Garcia said it once, but I know many people have said it before him, which is “Style is the stuff you can’t help doing.” Style in some ways is the stuff that you do wrong. Because perfect technique would be completely without style. Stuff that lets everybody know that it’s you playing is the falling away from perfect technique. So after you’ve written a few million words, the thing that lets anybody picking up a page read it and say, “Neil wrote that,” is style, it’s the stuff you can’t help doing.

Gaiman credited Garcia with the first adage: “Style is the stuff you can’t help doing.” However, the punctuation of the passage suggests that Gaiman himself crafted the second adage: “Style in some ways is the stuff that you do wrong. ” By 2008 Gaiman had refined the second adage to: “Style is the stuff you get wrong.” Confusingly, Gaiman attributed these words to Garcia.

Uncertainty remains because over the years Gaiman has credited both sayings to Garcia, and neither has yet been found in the interviews and writings of Garcia.

QI hopes that this article will encourage fans of Jerry Garcia, Neil Gaiman, and others to further explore this topic.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It Is Not Possible for One Man To Hold Another Man Down in the Ditch Without Staying Down There With Him

Booker T. Washington? Henry H. Proctor? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous educator and orator Booker T. Washington believed that the disadvantaged in society should be uplifted because a thoughtful program of amelioration would help everyone. During speeches Washington used the metaphor of two individuals fighting in a ditch. If one person wanted to hold the other down then both would be required to stay in the ditch. Booker’s audience ruefully recognized that both individuals would benefit from simply leaving the ditch. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1909 Booker T. Washington published “The Story of the Negro: The Rise of the Race from Slavery” which included the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

. . . the uplifting of the Negro in the South means the uplifting of labour there; for the cause of the Negro is the cause of the man who is farthest down everywhere in the world. Educate him, give him character, and make him efficient as a labourer, and every other portion of the community will be lifted higher. Degrade the Negro, hold him in peonage, ignorance, or any other form of slavery and the great mass of the people in the community will be held down with him. It is not possible for one man to hold another man down in the ditch without staying down there with him.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Self-Consciousness Is the Enemy of All Art

Ray Bradbury? Erica Jong? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The science fiction luminary Ray Bradbury relied deeply on his intuitions and his imagination to compose lyrical prose. He believed that creativity was obstructed by over-thinking and intellectualizing. The following two statements have been attributed to him:

Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art.
Thinking is the enemy of creativity.

Are these quotations genuine? Would you please help me to find citations?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1962 Ray Bradbury wrote an essay titled “The Queen’s Own Evaders, an Afterword” which discussed his seven month sojourn in Ireland where he succeeded in his primary goal of co-authoring the screenplay of “Moby Dick”. Bradbury also learned about the Irish people which later inspired the short play “The Anthem Sprinters”. His essay featured musings on the creative process. Bradbury stated that an artist should not attempt to explain an artwork while it is being created. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

To try to know beforehand is to freeze and kill.
Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.

In 1971 Bradbury addressed the opening banquet of the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Press Association held in Park City, Utah. He presented guidance for writers:²

The speaker said television is the place you learn how to be mediocre. You learn from it, you grow from it, you learn how not to do things.”

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. You cannot intellectualize creativity. You can think about something before or after — but not during,” he declared.

These two citations provide solid evidence that Bradbury employed both of the statements mentioned by the questioner. Further, the citations below show that he reiterated these observations later in life.

Quote Origin: A Reputation Is Like a Death Mask. I Wanted To Smash the Mask

Graham Greene? Doris Lessing? Erica Jong?

Question for Quote Investigator: An artist who has achieved a distinctive reputation with critics and the general public is placed into a metaphorical strait jacket. Newly fashioned artworks are expected to be similar to previous artworks. Change and innovation are frowned upon. This notion can be expressed using a harsher analogue:

A reputation is a death mask.

A death mask is a rigidly fixed depiction of an impassive human face obtained via a wax or plaster mold after death. This vivid phrase about reputation has been attributed to three literary figures: Doris Lessing, Graham Greene, and Erica Jong. What do you think?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Graham Greene acquired a strong literary standing with works such as “Brighton Rock”, “The Power and the Glory”, and “The End of the Affair”. Yet, he did not want his creativity to be constrained by this series of successes. So he changed his style and released a light-hearted work titled “Loser Takes All” in 1955. He described this pivotal episode in his autobiography “Ways of Escape” in 1980. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The mood of escape . . . took me . . . to Monte Carlo . . . to write what I hoped would prove an amusing, agreeably sentimental novella—something which neither my friends nor my enemies would expect. It was to be called Loser Takes All. A reputation is like a death mask. I wanted to smash the mask.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: We’d All Like a Reputation for Generosity, and We’d All Like To Buy It Cheap

Mignon McLaughlin? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: December is a season of generosity for many, but the eagerness of participants varies. A friend recently joked that she wanted to achieve a reputation for generosity as cheaply as possible. She disclaimed authorship of this quip. Would you please explore its provenance?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in “The Neurotic’s Notebook” by Mignon McLaughlin in 1963. The compendium contained quips, adages, and observations such as the following two items:¹

We’d all like a reputation for generosity, and we’d all like to buy it cheap.

Life marks us all down, so it’s just as well that we start out by overpricing ourselves.

McLaughlin worked as a writer and editor at magazines such as “The Atlantic Monthly”, “Glamour”, and “Vogue” for decades from the 1940s to the 1970s. She was known for her witticisms.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: We Cannot Cure the World of Sorrows, But We Can Choose To Live in Joy

Joseph Campbell? Diane K. Osbon? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: When I watch the news I see endless reports signaling that the world is a mess. Efforts to mend the world are necessary and laudable; however, I am reminded of the advice given by mythology scholar Joseph Campbell. The world has always been a mess, and priority should be given to straightening out our own lives. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This guidance occurred in the 1991 book “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” which consisted of material selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon. The following text appeared in a section titled “In the Field”, and Osbon stated that she had collected the words directly from Campbell. The section contained “favorite expressions of his, recorded in my journals over the years in his company”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
When we talk about settling the world’s problems, we’re barking up the wrong tree.
The world is perfect. It’s a mess. It has always been a mess.
We are not going to change it.
Our job is to straighten out our own lives.

Below is one additional selected citation.

Quote Origin: Old Age Sure Ain’t for Sissies

Bette Davis? Ruth S. Hain? Malcolm Forbes? John S. Whelan? Paul Newman? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: One grows in wisdom as the decades accumulate, but the challenges to health and intellect also increase. Here are four versions of a spirited adage:

Old age is no place for sissies.
Getting old is not for sissies.
Aging is not for wimps.
Gettin’ old ain’t for wimps.

In this context, the words sissy and wimp refer to a weak or cowardly person. This adage has been credited to Academy Award winning actress Bette Davis. Would you please explore its provenance?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the “Reader’s Digest” magazine of April 1968 within a section called “Life in These United States” which printed vignettes contributed by readers. A piece from Ruth S. Hain of Castro Valley, California described a group of elderly friends who gathered together and shared tales of arthritic joints and hardening arteries. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

. . . one old gentleman detailed his stomach distress—all with considerable general comment. “Well, it just proves one thing, Hilda,” one woman finally said to her neighbor. “Old age sure ain’t for sissies.”

The guidelines published in “Reader’s Digest” state that vignettes submitted to the periodical “must be true, unpublished stories from your own experience”.² QI conjectures that the punchline was crafted by the anonymous discussion participant above and popularized by Hain although it remains possible that Hain was recycling a pre-existing quip.

There is good evidence that Bette Davis owned a pillow with the slogan: Old Age Ain’t No Place for Sissies. Yet, the supporting citations appeared years after the saying was already in circulation. See further below for details.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Serious-Minded People Have Few Ideas. People With Many Ideas Are Never Serious

Paul Valéry? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following appeared as an epigraph to an article I saw recently:

Serious-minded people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.

The words were attributed to the French poet and commentator Paul Valéry. I am not sure precisely what the remark means. Would you please help me to find a citation for the original statement in French?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1942 Paul Valéry published “Mauvaises pensées et autres” (“Bad thoughts and others”) which contained a collection of short passages about a variety of topics. The following statement was included:¹

Un homme sérieux a peu d’idées. Un homme à idées n’est jamais sérieux.

Here is one possible rendering into English:

Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.

QI can only guess at the meaning. Perhaps the remark suggests that serious people offer few panaceas, and people who do offer panaceas should not be taken seriously.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Taking Things with Gratitude, and Not Taking Things for Granted

G. K. Chesterton? Hugh Gesshugh? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The Thanksgiving season reminds me of a notion that I have seen expressed in three different ways:

Instead of taking things for granted, we should take them with gratitude.

We must learn to take things with gratitude instead of taking them for granted.

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.

This thought has been credited to the influential English writer and commentator to G. K. Chesterton, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: “The Autobiography of G. K. Chesterton” appeared in 1936 which was the last year of the author’s life. He offered the following guidance to his readers. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

. . . I hope it is not pompous to call the chief idea of my life; I will not say the doctrine I have always taught, but the doctrine I should always have liked to teach. That is the idea of taking things with gratitude, and not taking things for granted.

The format of the statement above corresponded to neither a straightforward injunction nor a clear-cut aphorism; hence, the transmission and dispersal of the statement in its original form was hindered. Unsurprisingly, the phrasing has evolved during the ensuing decades.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: People Soon Get Tired of Staring at a Plywood Box Every Night

Darryl F. Zanuck? Anonymous Movie Mogul? Gabe Essoe? San Franciscan? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Movie industry people felt threatened by the advent of televised entertainment. Yet, early television consoles were expensive devices housed in bulky wooden cabinets with small screens that displayed only flickering black and white images. Apparently, a skeptical movie tycoon said:

People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box.

I’ve seen this statement in compilations of bad predictions. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in “The Wall Street Journal” in 1951. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

What’s giving the movie men the most cause for joy is this: They think they are beginning to make a little headway in their battle with arch-rival TV.

“Video isn’t able to hold on to the market it captures after the first six months,” declares a New York movie mogul. “People soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night,” claims a San Franciscan.

The passage above contains quotations from two different people. Oddly, later citations implausibly ascribed both statements to Darryl F. Zanuck, a powerful movie producer based in Hollywood, not New York.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.