Literary Birthday – 13 September – Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson was born 13 September 1876 and died 8 March 1941.

Quotes

1. The object of art is not to make saleable pictures. It is to save yourself.
2. I think the whole glory of writing lies in the fact that it forces us out of ourselves and into the lives of others.
3. The thing of course, is to make yourself alive. Most people remain all of their lives in a stupor.
4. The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, whereas in the artist’s imaginative life there is purpose. There is determination to give the tale, the song, the painting, form — to make it true and real to the theme, not to life.
5. I have seldom written a story, long or short, that I did not have to write and rewrite. There are single stories of mine that have taken me ten or twelve years to get written.
6. If I can write everything out plainly, perhaps I will myself understand better what has happened.
7. If you are to become a writer you’ll have to stop fooling with words.
8. When a man publishes a book, there are so many stupid things said that he declares he’ll never do it again. The praise is almost always worse than the criticism.
9. Most people are afraid to trust their imaginations and the artist is not.

Sherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer. He was known for his subjective works of fiction. Although he was largely self-educated, he became a successful copywriter and business owner. He is best known for his short stories including Winesburg, Ohio, The Triumph of the Egg, and Death in the Woods. He also published novels, memoirs, essays, and a book of poetry.

Source for image

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherwood_Anderson_(1933)_(retouched).jpg

Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Source for quotes

 by Amanda Patterson

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