Tracing Quotations
Edgar Allan Poe? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A hyperbolic statement about poetry has been credited to the major literary figure Edgar Allan Poe: If a poem hasn’t ripped apart your soul, you haven’t experienced poetry. Could this possibly be a genuine remark from Poe? Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Edgar Allan …
Continue reading “If a Poem Hasn’t Ripped Apart Your Soul, You Haven’t Experienced Poetry”
Edgar Allan Poe? Richard Rowland? Terry Ramsaye? Laurence Stallings? H. L. Mencken? William Gibbs McAdoo? Jack Oakie? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The leaders of a group often face a variety of criticisms. Harsh detractors employ a vivid metaphor from the domain of mental health. Here are two examples: The lunatics have taken over the asylum. …
Continue reading “The Lunatics Have Taken Charge of the Asylum”
Edgar Allan Poe? Alfred Smee? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The number of new books has increased vertiginously in recent years, but even in the nineteenth century critics lamented an oversupply. Did the major literary figure Edgar Allan Poe complain that the proliferation of books was “one of the greatest evils” of his age? Quote Investigator: …
Edgar Allan Poe? Dinah Craik? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following hyperbolic proverb encouraging skepticism has been credited to the master of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe: Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Did Poe craft this saying? Quote Investigator: The short story “The System of Dr. …
Continue reading “Believe Nothing You Hear, and Only One Half That You See”
Edgar Allan Poe? William Barton? John A. Joyce? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following remark has been ascribed to the master of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe Religion evolved out of fraud, fear, and greed. Is this quotation accurate? Quote Investigator: A controversial remark of this type was included in a 1901 biography …
Edgar Allan Poe? Ted Olson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a verse stating that only one person out of one-hundred is actively working toward making bold dreams come true. This notion has been ascribed to the horror master Edgar Allan Poe. Are you familiar with this verse? Would you please examine this topic? Quote …
Continue reading “It’s Easy Enough, My Friend, to Dream of Utopian Worlds Afar…”
Edgar Allan Poe? Germaine de Staël? Bert Leston Taylor? Charles A. Dana? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of quips that express a comically contradictory attitude toward specters. Here are three instances: I do not believe in ghosts, but I am awfully afraid of them. I don’t believe in ghosts, but I’ve been …
Continue reading “I Do Not Believe in Ghosts, But I Am Awfully Afraid of Them”
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 …
Continue reading “I Don’t Suffer from Insanity; I Enjoy Every Minute of It!”
Edgar Allan Poe? Poe? Anne D. Danielewski? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Edgar Allan Poe authored groundbreaking tales in three different genres: horror, mystery, and science fiction. Numerous websites attribute the following emotion-laden passage to the literary master: Sometimes I’m terrified of my heart; of its constant hunger for whatever it is it wants; the way …
Edgar Allan Poe? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: On a popular website I saw an intriguing list of “Indispensable Writing Tips from Famous Authors”. The following words were attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, the master of mystery and the macabre: A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it. I …
Continue reading “A Short Story Must Have a Single Mood and Every Sentence Must Build Towards It”