James Jones (1921–1977) American author
Letter to Maxwell Perkins (21 October 1946); p. 77
To Reach Eternity (1989)
“Thinking of Melville, thinking of Poe, thinking of Mark Twain and Vachel Lindsay, thinking of Jack London and Tom Wolfe, one begins to feel there is almost no way of becoming a creative writer in America without being a loser.”
"Algren at the height of his success" in 1950, quoted by Richard Flanagan, 2005.
Nonfiction works
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Do you have more details about the quote "Thinking of Melville, thinking of Poe, thinking of Mark Twain and Vachel Lindsay, thinking of Jack London and Tom Wolfe…" by Nelson Algren?
Nelson Algren30
American novelist, short story writer 1909–1981Related quotes
Isaac Asimov book Buy Jupiter and Other Stories
Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975), p. 33
General sources
“Nobody becomes Tom Wolfe overnight, not even Tom Wolfe.”
William Zinsser (1922–2015) writer, editor, journalist, literary critic, professor
Source: On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976), Chapter 4, Style, p. 20.
“The man's father is a wonderful human being. I think this guy is a loser.”
Harry Reid (1939) American politician
on George W. Bush. Las Vegas Review-Journal http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/May-06-Fri-2005/news/reid.html, May 6, 2005
“It is almost impossible to think without talking.”
George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
"As I Please," Tribune (28 April 1944) https://books.google.com/books?id=fCRLPIbLP8IC&pg=PA133&dq=%22it+is+almost+impossible+to+think+without+talking%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZi9qjndzZAhURrVkKHbDDCxkQ6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=%22it%20is%20almost%20impossible%20to%20think%20without%20talking%22&f=false <br class="br">"As I Please" (1943–1947) <br class="br">Context: The greatest mistake is to imagine that the human being is an autonomous individual. The secret freedom which you can supposedly enjoy under a despotic government is nonsense, because your thoughts are never entirely your own. Philosophers, writers, artists, even scientists, not only need encouragement and an audience, they need constant stimulation from other people. It is almost impossible to think without talking.... Take away freedom of speech, and the creative faculties dry up.
Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American inventor and businessman
The Philosophy of Paine (1925)
Context: Tom Paine has almost no influence on present-day thinking in the United States because he is unknown to the average citizen. Perhaps I might say right here that this is a national loss and a deplorable lack of understanding concerning the man who first proposed and first wrote those impressive words, 'the United States of America.' But it is hardly strange. Paine's teachings have been debarred from schools everywhere and his views of life misrepresented until his memory is hidden in shadows, or he is looked upon as of unsound mind.
We never had a sounder intelligence in this Republic. He was the equal of Washington in making American liberty possible. Where Washington performed Paine devised and wrote. The deeds of one in the Weld were matched by the deeds of the other with his pen.
Jack Benny (1894–1974) comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor
Broadcast on Jack Benny radio program, 28 March 1948. Sourced from audio recording.
The Jack Benny Program (Radio: 1932-1955)
Variant: Jack Benny: I'm thinking I'm thinking!
E.E. Cummings (1894–1962) American poet
A Poet's Advice (1958)
Context: Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel …
the moment you feel, you're nobody-but-yourself.
To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.