Quotessence
Home / Books / Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself

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

Book by James Thurber · 2 quotes · Comedy, Ifs, Men

Filter quotes by topic

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.”

“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.”