Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

E. B. White Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jul 11, 1899
  • Died: Oct 1, 1985

Elwyn Brooks "E. B." White was an American writer. He was a contributor to The New Yorker magazine and a co-author of the English language style guide, The Elements of Style, which is commonly known as "Strunk & White". He also wrote books for children, including Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan. Charlotte's Web was voted the top children's novel in a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, not for the first time.

Writing is hard work and bad for the health. health & work

To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year. Christmas

Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself, he is absolutely sure he has a sense of humor. humor

Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car. cars & being funny

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar. faith

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. being good

Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it. humor

English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street. education

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel. science

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts. greatness & time

Old age is a special problem for me because I've never been able to shed the mental image I have of myself - a lad of about 19. aging

The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war. fatherhood & war

Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time. politics

Be obscure clearly. being funny

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. life & morning

Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one. intelligence

The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed of his acceptance. aging & power

Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men. men

The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it. change

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. 3 thoughts from John Millington Synge

3 thoughts from John Millington Synge

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. 28 other thoughts from William Butler Yeats

28 other thoughts from William Butler Yeats

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. 27 other thoughts from Dave Barry

27 other thoughts from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 wisdom & wit from Winston Churchill

74 wisdom & wit from Winston Churchill