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Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself

Book by James Thurber · 17 quotes · Comedy, Ifs, Men

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Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself Quotes

“We are a nation that has always gone in for the loud laugh, the wow, the yak, the belly laugh, and the dozen other labels for the roll- em-in-the-aisles gagerissimo. This is the kind of laugh that delights actors, directors, and producers, but dismays writers of comedy because it is the laugh that often dies in the lobby. The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it.”

FeelsKindImportantWarHomeDiesActorsNationsQualityAudienceLaughingGoneComedyDirectorsLaughterUnderstoodDelightProducersLabelsLoudEmsWarmthWowDozenBellyMirthAisleAppreciativeDismayChucklesBelly LaughsYaks
Book:Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself
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“If a playwright tried to see eye to eye with everybody, he would get the worst case of strabismus since Hannibal lost an eye trying to count his nineteen elephants during a snowstorm while crossing the Alps.”

IfsTryingEyeLostCasesWorstTheaterTheatreElephantsPlaywrightCrossingsNineteenAlpsSnowstorms
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“Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counselling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, 'How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?' and avoid 'How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?'”

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“History is replete with proofs, from Cato the Elder to Kennedy the Younger, that if you scratch a statesman you find an actor, but it is becoming harder and harder, in our time, to tell government from show business.”

IfsShowsGovernmentActorsBecomingHarderProofOur TimeShow BusinessScratchesEldersStatesmenCato
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“We all know that the theater and every play that comes to Broadway have within themselves, like the human being, the seed of self-destruction and the certainty of death. The thing is to see how long the theater, the play, and the human being can last in spite of themselves.”

KnowsHumansLongSelfPlayLastsHuman BeingsDestructionTheaterEntertainmentSeedsCertaintySpiteBroadwaySelf DestructionCertainty Of Death
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“One has but to observe a community of beavers at work in a stream to understand the loss in his sagacity, balance, co-operation, competence, and purpose which Man has suffered since he rose up on his hind legs. He began to chatter and he developed Reason, Thought, and Imagination, qualities which would get the smartest group of rabbits or orioles in the world into inextricable trouble overnight.”

MenWorldReasonPurposeHumanityCommunityImaginationLossQualityTroubleGroupsBalanceRoseLegsOperationsStreamsRabbitsCompetenceChatterBeaversSagacity
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“The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them; Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road.”

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“The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it.”

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“My opposition to Interviews lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or grace of expression, and that such oral give and take helps to perpetuate the decline of the English language.”

GivingLittlesFactsHelpingLyingValuesLanguageAnswersGraceExpressionInterviewsOppositionDeclineEnglish LanguageGive And Take
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“Sophistication might be described as the ability to cope gracefully with a situation involving the presence of a formidable menace to one's poise and prestige (such as the butler, or the man under the bed - but never the husband).”

MenMightAbilitySituationComedyBedHusbandInvolvingMenacePrestigeFormidableSophisticationButlersPoise
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