Quip Origin: Chaucer Is Dead, Spencer Is Dead, So Is Milton, So Is Shakespeare, and I Am Not Feeling Very Well Myself

Mark Twain? Punch magazine? James T. Fields? William P. Clyde? Walt Mason? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, an effusive admirer of Mark Twain once proclaimed that the famous humorist deserved membership in the pantheon of major writers. Twain’s comical response highlighted his mortality: I was sorry to have my name mentioned as one of …