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
The young writer should learn to spot them: words that at first glance seem freighted with delicious meaning, but that soon burst in the air, leaving nothing but a memory of bright sound.
Interpretation
Writers must identify words that seem significant but ultimately lack depth.
E. B. White emphasizes the importance for young writers to discern between words that initially seem rich in meaning but are, in reality, ephemeral and lack lasting substance. This quote serves as a reminder that not all words carry the weight we expect, and writers should be mindful of their language to create lasting impact rather than momentary illusions.
In practice
In a writing workshop focusing on developing skills, this quote can highlight the importance of word choice.
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.
It 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.
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.
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience.
Let's teach kids, at the kindergarten level, what the contributions of people of color were to building the United States of America.
I don't care who writes a nation's laws - or crafts its advanced treaties - if I can write its economics textbooks.
High school isn't a very important place. When you're going you think it's a big deal, but when it's over nobody really thinks it was great unless they're beered up.
There is no way, absolutely no way, that I would want people to stop reading the 'Odyssey.' But I want them to read it with their eyes open. To notice it and then to think what it says about us.
We think of speaking as something we do naturally, without any effort. But like playing music, it requires attention and knowledge and practice.
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