Critic

Oliver Herford was once asked his opinion of Arnold Bennett's work. "Well," he replied, "something I once wrote about him in a critical way so prejudiced me against him that I never read a word he wrote."

Kate Winslet: "I remember I was in India, and I was walking in the foothills of the Himalayas. There was an old man walking toward me - I mean, a very old man, like 80 or 85, with a walking stick...And I remember him walking toward me, sweating profusely, because it was boiling hot. And he stopped in front of me, and I was trying to get past him on this little path. And he went, 'You... Titanic.' I could not believe it..."

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend . . . if you have one."
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second . . . if there is one."
—Winston Churchill, in response

He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
—William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
—Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

Gershwin & Stravinsky: Music Lessons

George Gershwin once considered taking lessons from Igor Stravinsky. "How much will you charge to come over and give me lessons in orchestration?" Gershwin asked. "How much do you make in a year?" Stravinsky inquired. "A hundred thousand dollars," Gershwin replied. There was a long silence, finally broken by another question from Stravinsky: "How about you giving me lessons?"