Quotes from Famous Authors (3 of 5): Mark Twain

"The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning-bug."

If one is in the Hartford, Connecticut, area, we highly recommend visiting the Mark Twain House where Ghost Walk tours are being offered on Friday nights this month in honor of Halloween.

http://www.marktwainhouse.org

Quote of the Week- Leo Tolstoy

Today, we quote the vintage Russian writer Leo Tolstoy who wrote both "War and Peace" (1869) and "Anna Karenina" (1877). The Turkish-American writer Elif Batuman wrote a wonderful, fairly-recent memoir about her interest in Russian novels, which we highly recommend.

Here is a quote from Tolstoy:

"The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people."

http://www.elifbatuman.com

Quote of the Day- Umberto Eco

We continue our quotes from famous authors around the world with a quip from Umberto Eco, 80, the Italian novelist who penned "The Name of the Rose;" here is his quote:

"I love the small of book ink in the morning"

http://www.umbertoeco.com

Quotes from Famous World Writers, contd._ Gabriel Garcia Marquez

We continue our series our quotes of world-renown writers with a quip from the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 85, who was the subject of an excellent article by Enrique Krauze in an October 2009 article in "The New Republic" about his friendship with the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who turned 86 this week.

We imagine many of this writer's works, including "Love in the Time of Cholera" (1988) can be found at Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe in Washington, DC.

Here is the quote:

"A famous writer who wants to continue writing has to be constantly defending himself against fame."

http://www.themodernword.com/gabo

http://www.kramers.com

http://www.tnr.com

Quote of the Day_ D.H. Lawrence

Today, we continue our quotes of the day with a quote from the English writer D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930); his most famous novel is "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (1928), a rather controversial steamy novel which we presume can be found at the Tattered Covered Bookstore in Denver, Colo., one of our personal favorite independent bookstores.

Here is the quote from Lawerence:

"Never trust the artist. Trust the tale."

http://www.tatteredcoverbookstore.com

Quote of the Day/Week- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Today's quote of the day is from F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1944), the famed Minnesota novelist who died age 44. Last year, a characterization of him was in the Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris." He was played by Tom Hiddleston.

In a tragic irony, his wife Zelda Sayre (known as Zelda Fitzgerald) also died young at age 48 in 1948. She was played in the same Allen film by Alison Pill.

Here are some other quick facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald:

_ Best-known for his novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925), which was made into a theatrical film in 1974 with Robert Redford playing the lead. I found a paperback copy of it at a nifty used bookstore in Wilmington, NC.

_Wrote the novel "Tender is the Night" (1934), which is the same title of a catchy Jackson Browne ballad, released in 1983.

_ A theatre named after him in St. Paul, Minn., was featured in Robert Altman's last film "A Prairie Home Companion"

Here is the quote:

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy."

Quote of the Day- Carson McCullers

Today, we start a week-long series of quotes from famous American writers since the 4th of July, or Independence Day, was celebrated here last week.

We start with the distinguished Southern writer Carson McCullers (1917-1997), who died at age 50. She had suffered considerable health and personal problems during her short life. Two of her most famous novels "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (1940) and "Member of the Wedding" (1946) were written before she turned 30. Her work has also been adapted to stage plays and film.

McCullers was born in Georgia, and wrote most of her famous novels while residing in Charlotte, NC.

Here is her quote:

"I live with the people I create and it has always made my essential loneliness less keen."

Quote of the Day/Week-Toni Morrison

Today's quote of the day/week (well, yes we also quipped Harry Truman just a few minutes ago) comes from Toni Morrison, 81, a famous author who won the Pulitzer Prize for the `1987 novel "Beloved." Morrison was one of 13 people awarded Presidential Medals of Honor yesterday, along with Bob Dylan and Madeline Albright. Some winners were awarded posthumously.

Morrison was also among the photograph subjects in the exhibit "The Black List" taken by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, which was on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, until April 22nd. But, one can still see at least one painting with our other subject of the day (Harry Truman) as an exhibit of presidential portraits is on-going.


Here is Morrison's quote; this one deals with the craft of writing:

"I'm just trying to look at something without blinking."

http://www.washington.org

http://www.tonimorrisonsociety.org

Quote of the Week- Cormac McCarthy

Today, we conclude our month-long series of quotes with famous people from New England with a quip from novelist Cormac McCarthy, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, which checked in at 81 degrees today, considerably cooler than the northeast was over the week. (It was hot in the South as well as it reached 128 degrees in Washington, NC, on Saturday!).

McCarthy, who now resides in New Mexico, is best-known for "No Country for Old Men," "All the Pretty Horses" and "The Road" as well as the excellent play "Sunset Limited," which I saw a production of at Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC, earlier this year.

Here is the quote, which all of us aspiring writers can take to heart:

"Even if what you're work on doesn't go anywhere, it will help you with the next thing you're doing. Make yourself avaialable for something to happen. Give it a shot."

Special Quote of the Week-Orhan Pamuk

Today, we quoting the great Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk (b.1952) whose 2003 novel "Snow," set in the remote northwestern Turkey of Kars, near the border with Armenia, captured where Turkey is both socially and politically and that has held true in the close for the ten years since it was first published.

Pamuk, like the other two Turkish literary giants poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) and fellow novelist Yashar Kemal (b. 1923), has had many poltiical problems at home. After the publication of "Snow," he has made provacative comments regarding the Armenian Genocide Controversy (it should be pointed out here that when I use this term, Armenians hate the fact that I use the word controversy, and Turks don't like the use of the g-word, but either way or regardless of how I feel, the spat is not going to be made worse or resolved by whatever opinions I hold about the matter. But, unlike Pamuk, I would rather not go down that dark backstreet alley).

The German author Gunter Grass (b. 1927) who has also had isssues with right-wingers in his country defended Pamuk's right to speak about the matter. We are featuring a quote from Grass on other blog.

Here is the quote from the author of "Snow" and "My Name is Red:"

"Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen."

SIDEBAR: Shifting our attention to minor leage baseball, our beloved Durham Bulls (in Durham, NC) beat the visiting Indianapolis Indians 1-0 in a day game today. The two teams face each other again tommorow night; the Bulls have a record of 21-13.

Also, the Salem Red Sox from my hometown of Salem, Va, lost their last game to the Wilmington BlueRocks in Wilmigton, Del., but they return home to face the Winston-Salem Dash from Camel City (Winston-Salem, NC) on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.

Quote of the Week- James Joyce

During the month of March, we will be quoting both philosophers and famous people from Ireland. Today, we start with famous people from Ireland, and when one mentions Ireland and they are an English teacher, they are most likely perhaps to think of the great novelist James Joyce (1882-1941). (Ok, or maybe Oscar Wilde too).

Joyce's 1922 novel "Ulysses" is considered to be one of the very best in the English language, which reminds that I should look for the Cliff Notes the next time I'm in a used bookstore (well, it is reportedly a hard novel to read).

There is also The James Joyce Pub in Baltimore, Md., which is already taking reservations for their St. Patrick's Day celebration at 410-727-5107. Alas, since we live pretty far from Balto and that time of year is busy for us teachers, I can not make the celebration myself!

This weekend, the band James Gallagher and Off the Boat, a group that specializes in Irish music plays at the Baltimore pub on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Here is our quote from Joyce who was also known for his wit:

"A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery," James Joyce.

We gather that according to "The Washington Post," today's trending topics are 'government shutdown' and 'Donald Rumsfeld memoir." We have nothing to say about either topic, but hopefully the mere mention of those terms will have folks flocking to the blog! Insallah, Joyce himself would have approved!