On this day in 1899 E. B. White was born.
In a letter to the poet Philip Booth, Mr. White said that a good poem is
like an anchovy: it makes you want another right away and pretty soon
the tin is empty and you have a bellyache or a small bone caught in your
throat or both.
Makes me smile! (and if you're a poet) you wish you might be as true
and clever and original as Mr. White.
Now why place an Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) right in the middle
of good stuff about E. B. White. Well, our sidewalks are leaning with
an abundance of these flowers and one can hardly get by without
knocking the neck out of them. And I have another little story about
our New Yorker essayist, which has to do with sidewalks and a comment
from one of his friends.
of good stuff about E. B. White. Well, our sidewalks are leaning with
an abundance of these flowers and one can hardly get by without
knocking the neck out of them. And I have another little story about
our New Yorker essayist, which has to do with sidewalks and a comment
from one of his friends.
I trust that you will spare the reading public
your little adventures in sidewalk contentment.
With deep gratitude to E.B. White for all his stories.