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

Mark Van Doren Critic

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jun 13, 1894
  • Died: Dec 10, 1972

Mark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, Whittaker Chambers, and Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. He was literary editor of The Nation, in New York City, and its film critic, 1935 to 1938.

He won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Collected Poems 1922 - 1938. Amongst his other notable works, many published in The Kenyon Review, include a collaboration with brother Carl Van Doren, American and British Literature since 1890; critical studies, The Poetry of John Dryden, Shakespeare, The Noble Voice and Nathaniel Hawthorne; collections of poems including Jonathan Gentry; stories; and the verse play The Last Days of Lincoln.

Nothing in man is more serious than his sense of humor it is the sign that he wants all the truth. humor

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. teacher

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

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

3 more views from John Millington Synge

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

28 other sayings from William Butler Yeats

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

27 wisdom & wit from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 more views from Winston Churchill

74 more views from Winston Churchill