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E. B. White

E. B. White Quotes

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Famous E. B. White Quotes

“I discovered a long time ago that writing of the small things of the day, the trivial matters of the heart, the inconsequential but near things of this living, was the only kind of creative work which I could accomplish with any sincerity or grace. As a reporter, I was a flop, because I always came back laden not with facts about the case, but with a mind full of the little difficulties and amusements I had encountered in my travels.”

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Book:The Letters of E. B. White
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“Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind? Who knows why certain notes in music are capable of stirring the listener deeply, though the same notes slightly rearranged are impotent? These are high mysteries, and this chapter is a mystery story, thinly disguised.”

KnowsMindStoriesCertainMysteryCapableNotesCombinationChaptersListenersStirringIgnite
Book:the elements of style
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“The subtlest change in New York is something people don't speak much about but that is in everyone's mind. The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now: in the sound of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest edition. (Written in 1949, 22 years before the World Trade Center was completed.)”

PeopleWorldYearsMindFirstsLongEndsTurnsSpeakSoundBlackCitiesMillionsFantasyWrittenNew YorkFirst TimeBiggerTradeFlightBridgesPlanesIslandsMortalityPassagesTowersChamberJetHeadlinesGeeseOverheadWorld TradeWorld Trade CenterWedges
Author:E. B. White
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“A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate millions... Of all targets New York has a certain clear priority. In the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm.”

MindEndsMightCertainTurnsMillionsFantasyClearNew YorkBiggerPrioritiesFlightBridgesPlanesIslandsCharmTargetPassagesDreamerSteadyLightningTowersChamberIrresistibleGeeseWedges
Author:E. B. White
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