Literary Birthday – 21 February – Brander Matthews

Brander Matthews was born 21 February 1852, and died 31 March 1929.

Five Quotes

1. To be clear is the first duty of a writer; to charm and to please are graces to be acquired later.
2. In every artist we can perceive a man with both a message and a method. His message may be innate in him, but his method he has to acquire from others.
3. Give a good deed the credit of a good motive; and give an evil deed the benefit of the doubt.
4. A highbrow is a person educated beyond his intelligence.
5. The art of the dramatist is very like the art of the architect. A plot has to be built up just as a house is built—story after story; and no edifice has any chance of standing unless it has a broad foundation and a solid frame.

Brander Matthews was an American writer and educator. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at an American university. He is the author of A Study of the Drama and The Philosophy of the Short-Story.

by Amanda Patterson

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