E.B. White (11 Jul, 1899 – 1 October, 1985) is an award winning American author mostly known for his children’s books Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.
- E.B. stand for Elwyn Brooks, but his college pals called him “Andy” because he shared the last name with the school’s co-founder Andrew Dickson.
- White wrote about his inspiration to write Charlotte’s Web in a letter saying: “One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig’s life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published.“
- According the New York Times White knew that his wife, Katharine Sergeant Angell, was a “keeper” is when she called dental floss “tooth twine”.
- E.B. White loved to sail his sailboat “Martha” (after his granddaughter).
- White did not underestimate his young audience, in fact he told the Paris review that “You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth.”
- White loved to be outdoors and has done little reading throughout his life.
- When writing, White was procrastinator but when he wrote no noise bothered, except music.
- White co-author of the English language style guide, The Elements of Style, which is commonly known as “Strunk & White”.
- In 1978, White won a special Pulitzer Prize citing “his letters, essays and the full body of his work”.
- The 1973 Canadian animated short, The Family That Dwelt Apart, is narrated by White and based on his short story of the same name.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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