Quotes: Author.

NOTE: The statement in bold-face is a brief summary of the quote, or the quote stands by itself and needs no simplification. The number to the left is the page number.

Author
Author 719 What does an author do? "Little do you suspect, that a student of human life has made your character the theme of more than one solitary and thoughtful hour." Hawthorne.

Author 721 Suitor must make up a story about the ring he has given his beloved. "…Clara Pemberton, examining an antique ring, which her betrothed lover had just presented to her… 'needs only one thing to make it perfect…it needs nothing but a story…you must kindle your imagination…and make a legend for it.' ” Hawthorne “The Antique Ring”

Author 893 An author's manuscript unread by the public is hurled into a bonfire. "An American author, whose works were neglected by the public, threw his pen and paper into the bonfire, and betook himself to some less discouraging occupation." Hawthorne: “Earth’s Holocaust”

Author 439 Sinclair Lewis was a combination of the characters of Carol and Kennicott, the dreamer and the realist. "Generally speaking, he [Sinclair Lewis] views the material of his novel as she [Carol] views it, and all his life, a good half of his nature was given to the same kind of romantic reverie that motivates Carol...the other half of his nature was Will Kennicott’s—downright, realistic, sensible, crude…two together make the author, and just as in his life these two parts of himself struggled against each other, so at the end of his novel, the husband and wife are still ‘enemies yoked.’ " Mark Schorer, Afterword. Sinclair Lewis, Main Street.

Author 1301 An author annihilates the reader's personality as he creates characters in his work. "…but something whispers me that he [the author] has a terrible power over ourselves, extending to nothing short of annihilation." “The Chimera” Hawthorne’s The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls

Author 1301 If an author heard the criticisms of his characters, he could fling them all in the stove and they would be nothing forevermore. "If our babble were to reach his [the author’s] ears, and happen not to please him, he has but to fling a quire or two of paper into the stove; and you, Primrose, and I, and Periwinkle, Sweet Fern, Squash Blossom, Blue Eye, Huckleberry, Clover, Cowslip, Plantain, Milkweed, Dandelion, and Butter-Cup—yes, and wise Mr. Pringle with his unfavorable criticisms on my legends, and poor Mrs. Pringle, too—would all turn to smoke, and go whisking up the funnel." “The Chimera” Hawthorne’s The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls

Author Stephen Crane 157 Stephen Crane seemed to understand the character of men in battle better than men who had actually been in battle. "…he [Crane] seemed to understand the psychology of men in battle better than those who had actually been present at armed struggles." “About the Author.” Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.

Author Stephen Crane 157 Crane learned about men in battle through reading, interviews with veterans and his imagination. "He [Crane] knew what occurred in bloody conflict only through reading, through conversation with veterans of the Civil War, and, most of all, through his own power of imagination." “About the Author.” Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.

Author Stephen Crane 157 An experience that gave rise to one of America's finest short stories. "While accompanying a[n] … expedition a little earlier than the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he was shipwrecked and was one of three men who managed to escape in an open boat to the coast of Florida…hardships he endured on this trip undermined Crane’s health and finally brought about his death from consumption [at age 30], but they also gave him the material for one of his most marvelous narratives, 'The Open Boat,' called by H.G. Wells 'the finest short story in the English language.' ” “About the Author.” Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.

Author Stephen Crane 158 "Crane…not particularly a good student, but was deeply interested in two things—books and baseball." “About the Author.” Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.