Literary Birthday – 30 August – N.H. Kleinbaum

N. H. Kleinbaum was born 30 August 1948 and died 29 October 2024.

Five N.H. Kleinbaum Quotes

1. Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.
2. So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavour, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.
3. No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.
4. We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering… these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.
5. When you read, don’t consider only what the author thinks, but take time to consider what you think.

Nancy H. Kleinbaum was an American writer and journalist, who became popular with her first novel Dead Poets Society. She wrote Doctor Dolittle and The Magnificent Seven: The Authorized Story of American Gold. Click here for more of her books.

Photograph: Goodreads

by Amanda Patterson

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