It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the editor's unique understanding of writing, which is often greater than that of the writers themselves, while also suggesting that editors have chosen not to pursue writing themselves.
E. B. White captures the essence of the editorial profession in this quote, indicating that editors possess a deep and nuanced understanding of the art of writing that often surpasses the skills of the writers they work with. However, he emphasizes a crucial distinction: editors have chosen to refrain from writing, perhaps implying that their value lies in their ability to guide and refine the work of others, rather than seek personal expression through their own words.
Themes
EditorWritingKnowledgeCraftLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to highlight the importance of editing, one might say this quote to emphasize the editor's role.
More from E. B. White
All quotes βIt isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
E. B. WhiteRead
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WhiteRead
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
E. B. WhiteRead
A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
E. B. WhiteRead
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
E. B. WhiteRead
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