Favorite Maxims, Some of them Mine

“If the rich could hire other people to die for them, the poor could make a comfortable living.”—A Yiddish proverb quoted by W.H. Auden in A Certain World: A Commonplace Book * (A William Cole Book, Viking Press, 1970)

“It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you’re on the ground with the turkeys.”–Seen above the bar at Cleveland’s Euclid Tavern, circa 1970s-80s, source unknown

Three of my own coinage:

“Stay neutral, lean positive.”

“Being an editor allows me to express my latent religiosity, since I spend so much time praying for my books.”

“Publishing companies have long been known as ‘houses’ because they (are supposed to) offer hospitality to writers.”

* For those curious about what a commonplace book is, please see my pictures of the front and back flaps, and back cover, from my treasured copy of A Certain World. I recall from my years as a bookseller that E.M. Forster also assembled, or perhaps I should say, he collected materials for a commonplace book of his own. I love Auden’s contribution to this overlooked literary form.