Literary Birthday – 6 October – Stanley Ellin

Stanley Ellin was born 6 October 1916, and died 31 July 1986.

Six Quotes

1. No one put a gun to your head and ordered you to become a writer. One writes out of his own choice and must be prepared to take the rough spots along the road with a certain equanimity, though allowed some grinding of the teeth.
2. I’d hate to think you were like every other hypocrite around who says it’s all right to condemn a man to the electric chair and all wrong to pull the switch.
3. Good pictures? Who said anything about good pictures? Wake up, my friend. Look around you at our brave new world. The movies are all drive-ins today. It’s where the kids go so they can muzzle in the car, and the family people go so they can dump baby in the playground while they catch up on their sleep. You think any of them are worried about how good the picture is? All they want is something on the screen so they’ve got an excuse for being there.
4. The crime fiction genre offers the writer infinite diversity of theme and treatment. I like to take advantage of that diversity.
5. The way he plays Chess demonstrates a man’s whole nature.
6. Most vivid is the memory of my father, on a weekend visit, sitting by my bed filling me with bliss as he read Peter Rabbit to me, patiently read it over and over on demand until I was letter perfect in it. He must have read other stories to me as well, but of them I have no recollection because they lacked the true magic.

Stanley Ellin was an American mystery writer. He won three Edgar Allan Poe Awards. Several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents were based on Ellin short stories, and his novels Dreadful Summit, House of Cards, and The Bind were adapted into feature films.

Source for Image

Author’s website

http://www.stanleyellin.com/

by Amanda Patterson

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