In the Words of E. B. White

B. White E.

Description

"The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a world war."—E. B. White on fatherhood

"I was lucky to be born abnormal. It ran in the family."—on luck

"I would really rather feel bad in Maine than feel good anywhere else." —on Maine

"The English language is always sticking a foot out to trip a man."—on language

The author of Charlotte''s Web and One Man''s Meat, coauthor of The Elements of Style, and columnist for The New Yorker for almost half a century, E. B. White (1899–1985) is an American literary icon. Over the course of his career, White inspired generations of writers and readers with his essays (both serious and humorous), children''s literature, and stylistic guidance.

In the Words of E. B. White offers readers a delightful selection of quotations, selected and annotated by his granddaughter and literary executor, Martha White. The quotations cover a wide range of subjects and situations, from Automobiles, Babies, Bees, City Life, and College to Spiders, Taxes, Weather, Work, and Worry. E. B. White comments on writing for children, how to tell a major poet from a minor one, and what to do when one becomes hopelessly mired in a sentence. White was apt to address the subject of security by speaking first about a Ferris wheel at the local county fair, or the subject of democracy from the perspective of roofing his barn and looking out across the bay—he had a gift for bringing the abstract firmly into the realm of the everyday. Included here are gems from White''s books and essay collections, as well as bits from both published and unpublished letters and journals.

This is a book for readers and writers, for those who know E. B. White from his "Notes and Comment" column in The New Yorker, have turned to The Elements of Style for help in crafting a polished sentence, or have loved a spider''s assessment of Wilbur as "Some Pig." This distillation of the wit, style, and humanity of one of America''s most distinguished essayists of the twentieth century will be a welcome addition to any reader''s bookshelf.

Sujets

• Quotations
• Lettres et linguistique
• Quotation

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801463662
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

i n t h e w o r d s o f e.b.white

i n t h e w o r d s o f e. b. w h i t e

Quotations from America’s Most Companionable of Writers

edited by martha white

cornell university press ithaca and london

“The Art of the Essay, No. 1, E. B. White,” an interview with E. B. White conducted by Frank H. Crowther and George Plimpton, originally published inThe Paris Review,Fall 1969, Issue 48. Copyright © 1969 by The Paris Review,used with permission of The Wylie Agency LLC.

“E. B. White: Notes and Comment by Author,” an interview with E. B. White conducted by Israel Shenker, is fromThe New York Times,© June 11, 1969,The New York Times,www.nytimes.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the Material without express written permission is prohibited.

Copyright © 2011 by Martha White All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2011 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks), 1899–1985.  In the words of E.B. White : quotations from America’s most companionable of writers / edited by Martha White.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801449550 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks), 1899–1985—Quotations. I. White, Martha, 1954 Dec. 18– II. Title.  PS3545.H5187A6 2011  813'.52—dc22 2011021225

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

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for joel and allene white, with love, each of them literary executors before me, and who taught me everything i needed to know.

c o n t e n t s

A Note to the Reader

xi

Introduction: “A Simple and Sincere Account”

E. B. White Chronology

The Words of E. B. White

Aging Airplanes Animals Atomic Age Automobiles Autumn Awards Babies Barn Bees Biography Birds Boats and Boating

47 53 54 54 56 58 58 61 61 63 64 65 70

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Books Cancer Capitalism Chickens Childhood Christmas City Life College Commerce Common Sense Counsel Country Life Courage

1

75 76 76 77 78 79 80 81 83 85 85 86 87

Cows Critics Death Democracy Diplomacy Disarmament Dogs Doom Dreams Education Egg Elements of Style Endorsements English Usage Entertainment Equality Faith Family Farming Fatherhood Fear Freedom Freedom of Speech Friendship Future Gardening Government Grammar Gratitude

c o n t e n t s

89 89 90 91 93 93 93 99 99 101 102 103 103 104 105 106 107 108 108 110 111 112 113 116 117 117 119 120 121

v i i i

Health Home Hope House Humor Hypochondria Junk Mail Justice Kennedy, John F. Landscape Language Leisure Letters Liberty Life Literature Love Loyalty Luck Maine Maine Speech Marriage Middle Age Miracles Moon Morning Nationalism Nature Newspapers

122 124 125 127 128 130 130 130 131 133 135 136 137 137 137 139 139 140 141 142 144 145 146 146 147 148 148 151 154

New York City The New Yorker Nothing Passion Peace Photography Poets and Poetry Polls Pollution Possessions Prejudice Pseudonyms Public Speaking Quotations Railroads Rats Reading Religion Ross, Harold Sailing Science Sea Seasons Security

c o n t e n t s

155 158 159 160 160 161 162 165 166 166 167 168 168 169 169 170 171 172 174 175 175 175 176 183

Sex 184 Skating 185 Society 185 Spelling 188 Spiders 188 Spring 189 Style 189 Summer 191 Symbolism 191 Taxes 192 Telephone 192 Television 193 Terror 194 Thoreau, Henry David 194 Thurber, James 197 Time 198 War 199 Weather 201 Winter 202 Words 203 Work 206 Worry 207 Writing and Writers 209 Youth 218

Selected Bibliography

Index

i x

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