Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling 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…

Quote by James Thurber

Topics: Writers Quotes

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound,...

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound,...

Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our...

Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our...

The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow,...

The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow,...

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it... But you can feel it.

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it... But you can feel it.

Man is flying too fast for a world that is round. Soon he will catch...

Man is flying too fast for a world that is round. Soon he will catch...

Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty-eight and forty

Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty-eight and forty

It is better to have loafed and lost, than never to have loafed at all.

It is better to have loafed and lost, than never to have loafed at all.

Last night I dreamed of a small consolation enjoyed only by the blind: Nobody knows...

Last night I dreamed of a small consolation enjoyed only by the blind: Nobody knows...

Laughter need not be cut out of anything, since it improves everything.

Laughter need not be cut out of anything, since it improves everything.

My opposition to Interviews lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or...

My opposition to Interviews lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or...

A drawing is always dragged down to the level of its caption.

A drawing is always dragged down to the level of its caption.

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather...

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather...

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known...

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known...

Discussion in America means dissent.

Discussion in America means dissent.

The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the...

The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the...

Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face...

Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face...

Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.

Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.

Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy, and dead.

Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy, and dead.

Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between...

Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between...

He who hesitates is sometimes saved.

He who hesitates is sometimes saved.