Literary Birthday – 14 July – Irving Stone

Irving Stone was born 14 July 1903, and died 26 August 1989.

Nine Quotes

Art is a staple, like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter. Man’s spirit grows hungry for art in the same way his stomach growls for food.
There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.
Each of us has his own alphabet with which to create poetry.
Art is amoral; so is life. For me there are no obscene pictures or books; there are only poorly conceived and poorly executed ones.
I do not know a better cure for mental illness than a book.
One should not become an artist because he can, but because he must. It is only for those who would be miserable without it.
Talent is cheap; dedication is expensive. It will cost you your life.
Who wants to do good in this world must deny oneself. A man does not live on this Earth to be happy or to be honest only – he has to do great things for humanity, achieve the generosity of the spirit and rise above the banality where most of the people are drowning and wasting their days.
Drawing is the poet’s written line, set down to see if there be a story worth telling, a truth worth revealing.

Irving Stone was an American writer known for his biographical novels of famous historical personalities. He wrote Lust for Life, a biographical novel about Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony And The Ecstasy, a biographical novel about Michelangelo.