Quotations about quotations

Recently I've been reading some fascinating books on the history and genre of quotations, most notably Quotology by Willis Goth Regier. I've also spent hundreds of hours improving the accuracy and depth of my “Quotations about Quotations” page on The Quote Garden by tracing down original works for verification and culling a couple of hundred new items not posted on any other website, both from the long-lost treasures on Google Books and from my own collection of dusty books. I am quite certain that I’ve accumulated over the past 26 years what is the world's largest collection of quotes about quotes. If not, it is certainly the most accessible large collection.

I found it exciting to learn that people have been taking delight in quotations — and struggling with misquotation — for centuries. Quotation anthologies have been around for ages, but according to Willis Goth Regier, “The watershed for compendia was in the mid‑1850s.” Imagine how much more abundant the watershed — or how much earlier — had the internet been around back in the day!

While researching the origin and context of the quotations, I would frequently get sidetracked reading antique gems of books and authors, stumbling upon some of the most amazing writing that is still sparkling and relevant up to this very day. I'd like to share one of my finds with you all. I was trying to locate the origin of this quote:

          “Shake was a dramatist of note;
          He lived by writing things to quote...”

Thanks to Google Books, I was able to determine the author as V. Hugo Dusenbury. The full poem was posted in the January 28th 1880 edition of Puck, and it is so good I resurrect it here 132 years later for your reading pleasure — click the image to view full-size. The entire Puck periodical, in fact, was brimming with cleverness and I spent quite a happy time perusing it.

If you’d like to browse my new and improved page of quotations about quotations, you can find it here: www.quotegarden.com/quotations.html. My most heartfelt gratitude goes out to all the ancient and modern persons who have pointed the way and left behind clues for where to focus my searches over the years which have led me to all these glorious “choice flowers, culled from the gardens of Poesy” (H.G. Adams).

Update, November 2012:  Thanks to Garson O’Toole, The Quote Investigator, I’ve learned that V. Hugo Dusenbury was a pseudonym of Henry Cuyler Bunner, the editor of Puck.

My kind of fashion

Check out this fantastic purse made from the book cover to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Now that is my style of accessory! For years I've been saying that quotes are always in fashion, but this is the first time I've meant it literally.

This is the creation of Linda Sienkiewicz, Rokki Fashion Handbags. Visit her on Etsy at @RokkiHandbags.

"...far more seemly were it for thee to have thy study full of books than thy purse full of money." ~John Lyly

Short history of grammar: quotemarks

A few months ago I found this adorable comic drawn by Eric (a.k.a. Odysseus) titled “Short history of grammar: quotemarks.” I love it! His works are shared under the Free Art License which grants the right to freely copy, distribute, and transform. Click the image below to view in full size. The French translates to: “And that's how you were born...”

Update, February 2020:  Eric's website at the time of this blog post was lerelibre.net, but it's no longer a valid site and I've lost track of him. Eric, if you have a new website I can link to, please let me know!

Some thoughts are life-altering

“Why be saddled with this thing called life expectancy? Of what relevance to an individual is such a statistic? Am I to concern myself with an allotment of days I never had and was never promised? Must I check off each day of my life as if I am subtracting from this imaginary hoard? No, on the contrary, I will add each day of my life to my treasure of days lived. And with each day, my treasure will grow, not diminish.” ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Happy new year, one and all!

Give thanks... keep fighting

Finished another Twitter create your own quote contest today. The prompt was “Give thanks” and the winner is Fernanda (@bfersapiens) with her inspiring words “Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.” Thanks, Fernanda, and to everyone who participated in the contest! The full results page is located here: www.quotegarden.com/contest-20091105.html

Memorial Christmas

A bit odd to post a Christmas poem in May? Perhaps. My quote of the day on The Quote Garden and Twitter today were both Memorial Day related so thought I could get away with another holiday on my blog.

I was thinking about my grandpa this morning, who served in World War II. He didn't die in the war, lived happily until 57 years later, but I was thinking about him nonetheless, as I do many days. There's a poem he wrote when I was a little girl, and I posted an excerpt from it on my site a few years ago with my grandma's blessings. Those four lines have since been copied all over the internet and even in a few books. Today I am posting the poem in its entirety for everyone to enjoy.


Let Every Day Be Christmas
by Norman Wesley Brooks

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

Peace on Earth, good will to men,
kind thoughts and words of cheer,
are things we should use often
and not just once a year.

Remember too the Christ-child, grew up to be a man;
to hide him in a cradle, is not our dear Lord's plan.
So keep the Christmas spirit, share it with others far and near,
from week to week and month to month, throughout the entire year!

December 17, 1976

A second for gratitude

The Quote Garden has been online for 11 years, and I am so fortunate to have come in contact with many wonderful people from all parts of the world. People who are like me, different than me, people who allow me to post their quotes, who make suggestions, whose nice compliments make my day, those who are helpful and those who give me something to think about and those whose joy for life is contagious, whose kindness and generosity inspire me. Thank you all! I know many of you have been regular visitors since the early years. I appreciate everyone's support, long-time and new friends as well!