“Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.”

—  James Thurber

Letter, March 11, 1954, to Malcolm Cowley. Collecting Himself (1989)
Letters and interviews

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James Thurber 90
American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright 1894–1961

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You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.
Letter, March 11, 1954, to Malcolm Cowley. Collecting Himself (1989)
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