“One of the greatest writers of [the 20th] century.”
Lord Dunsany (1878–1957) Irish writer and dramatist
Arthur C. Clarke, quoted on the backcover of Time and the Gods, the second volume of the Fantasy Masterworks series
About
“Until the 20th century it was generally assumed that a writer had said what he had to say in his works.”
Writers on Themselves (1986)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Do you have more details about the quote "Until the 20th century it was generally assumed that a writer had said what he had to say in his works." by John Updike?
John Updike240
American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, an… 1932–2009Related quotes
Elaine Dundy (1921–2008) American journalist, actress
Afterword to The Dud Avocado (2006)
Context: Halfway through writing the book, I still had no title. It came wonderfully into being when I complimented my host at a party on his flourishing avocado plant. I said, I’d kept trying and failing with my own avocado pits. Someone said, what you’ve got is a dud avocado, and Ken said, that’s a good title for a novel. I thought, this title is mine, and it was. Ken and I had the same agent, and for a publisher we decided on Victor Gollancz, who was so good with first novels. Wonderfully, he accepted it, but with several caveats. He didn’t like the title. It sounded like a cookbook. He also wanted me to write under my married name. I said no to both. He accepted. He decided it needed a subtitle, "La Vie Amoureuse of Sally Jay in Paris." I said, Oh no, no! He said, this was the first time in his experience that an unknown writer had complained about a book cover. However, he did put on the book’s jacket that the subtitle was the publisher’s. Ken read it in proof and said, "You’ve got a thumping great best-seller here." Curiously, the first thing I felt was relief. I believed him. No one could predict how a play or novel would be received by the public like Ken could. And only then was I set free to let excitement take hold of me.
Cesare Pavese (1908–1950) Italian poet, novelist, literary critic, and translator
Source: The moon and the bonfire (1950), Chapter XVII, p. 98
Robert Heller (1932–2012) British magician
Robert Heller (2001) Jack Welch Dorling Kindersley Pub.
Manuel Fraga Iribarne (1922–2012) Spanish politician
The day Francisco Franco, the dictator, died. Frases que reflejan el recorrido de Manuel Fraga, 16th January 2012, Gara, 16th January 2012, castellà http://www.gara.net/azkenak/01/315809/es/Frases-que-reflejan-recorrido-Manuel-Fraga, <br class="br">Franco and Francoism
“Keynes was no revolutionary, but his ideas revolutionized 20th-century economics.”
Samuel Bowles (1939) American economist
Source: Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change, 2005, p.82
“He had writer's block once. It was the worst ten minutes of his life.”
Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) American writer
About Isaac Asimov – quoted in Page Fright : Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers (2009) by Harry Bruce
Jerry Pournelle, in "Chaos Manor: Is there an Upgrade in your future?" in Dr. Dobb's Journal : Software Tools For The Professional Programmer (2005), Vol. 30, Issues 374-379, p. 9
Variant: Most writers hate to write, and will grasp any excuse to do something else … There are exceptions. Isaac Asimov actually was never happier than sitting at a keyboard — first, his old typewriter; then, the TRS-80; and later, a more conventional PC. But then, Isaac was unusual, and his experience with writer's block was the worst 10 minutes of his life.
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist
Source: Postscript to the Name of the Rose