I'm glad to see John Gardner cited; he seems to have followed several predecessors into creeping oblivion, but for many years he was one of my favorite writers and thinkers about writing.
"In the context of plotting a book, you’ve probably seen the lines “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
Gotta say never heard this. Other than that, it states the obvious. Waking up is a journey. And a stranger coning to town? That actually sounds kinda good
I'm glad to see John Gardner cited; he seems to have followed several predecessors into creeping oblivion, but for many years he was one of my favorite writers and thinkers about writing.
I liked reading his advice when I started my career.
That does seem to be his role/place in the writing universe now--introducing beginners to ways of thinking about the craft.
A great legacy.
And Hemingway didn't say "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
True. It likely came from a sportswriter talking about doing a daily column--in which case it seems a tad hyperbolic IMHO.
https://www.hemingwaysociety.org/quotation-controversy-writing-and-bleeding
As a big fan of Henry Miller who has never read Walt Whitman ... famous is relative, for me, lol.
LOL indeed. But a poet who hasn't read Whitman? Tsk, tsk. :-)
I would never call myself a poet, Lev! Even if I'm sensitive to the poetry of Noir.
My mistake--I'm typing through a migraine. I should go lie down now.
I should still read Walt Whitman .... point well taken!
I also have enjoyed reading about him....he crops up in many biographies and histories.
Thank you for the Quote Investigator link! I've bookmarked it for future reference.
It's a valuable resource. When I was on FB, I would refer people to a lot.
Is Barlett’s Quotations still a reliable source for quote attributions? I haven’t thought of this reference book in years!
I use the Oxford book of quotations. ("a rotations" is what VR did. Yikes)
Thanks! I have a university library card, so I expect I'd be able to find it there.
It seems wider-ranging than Bartlett's as I recall from the last time I looked something up.
"In the context of plotting a book, you’ve probably seen the lines “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
Gotta say never heard this. Other than that, it states the obvious. Waking up is a journey. And a stranger coning to town? That actually sounds kinda good
If you want to know the often profound stuff Tolstoy actually said, you need to read his books.