Burton Rascoe
Burton Rascoe
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Full name: Burton Hill Rascoe
Common aliases: Burton Rascoe, B.H. Rascoe*
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: April 2, 1892, in Lexington, Kentucky
Died: May 16, 1957, in New York City
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Nationality: American
Profession(s): Critic, Editor, Journalist, Author
Early Life and Background
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Burton Rascoe was born on April 2, 1892, in Lexington, Kentucky. He came from a family of modest means and developed an interest in literature at an early age. Rascoe's love for reading led him to pursue a career in writing. He began his professional life as a critic, contributing articles to various publications.
Major Accomplishments
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Rascoe made significant contributions to the literary world through his work as a critic and editor. As the managing editor of The Dial, he played a crucial role in shaping the magazine's editorial direction. His influence helped establish The Dial as a respected publication, known for its insightful reviews and commentary on literature.
Notable Works or Actions
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Rascoe was instrumental in popularizing American literature abroad through his writings and lectures. He worked tirelessly to promote the work of American authors, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Sherwood Anderson. Rascoe's own writing career spanned multiple genres, from literary criticism to fiction.
Impact and Legacy
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Burton Rascoe left an indelible mark on the literary world through his dedication to promoting American literature. His work as a critic and editor helped shape the direction of literary publications during the early 20th century. Rascoe's influence can be seen in the careers of many notable authors, who benefited from his support and encouragement.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Burton Rascoe is widely quoted and remembered for his insightful commentary on literature and his role as a champion of American writers. His legacy extends beyond his own writing to the numerous authors whose careers he helped shape. Today, Rascoe's quotes and writings continue to inspire readers and writers alike, offering valuable perspectives on the literary world.
As an advocate for American literature, Burton Rascoe remains an important figure in the history of 20th-century literature. His commitment to promoting American authors and his contributions as a critic and editor have left a lasting impact on the literary landscape.
Quotes by Burton Rascoe
A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life – what people are interested in. That’s journalism.
What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he’s staring out of the window.
What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window.
A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life - what people are interested in. That's journalism.
American literature has been, and is, singularly deficient in established critics who have anything like a rational conception of their jobs. The majority, initiate in a few of the patent rituals of Aristotle and Quintilian , don the forbidding robes of high priests to Sweetness and Light, and go about their business much as if the idea were to keep all they know to themselves.
I felt exactly like the man in the advertisement who has not devoted fifteen minutes a day to the study of the classics. If only (I thought) I had devoted fifteen minutes a day to the cultivation of the aesthetic attitude! I could bound Afghanistan.
Buy books, then, that you have read with profit and pleasure and hope to read and reread. Buy books that you may underscore passages and write upon the margins, thus assuring yourself that the book is your own. Keep the books that mean the most to you close at hand, one or two, if possible, on a table at your bedside. Do not hide away your favorite books or keep them locked in enclosed shelves. Do not keep them under glass.
If you open a book and find that the writer is trying to impress you with his knowledge of long, unusual words or by his use of foreign phrases, close the book quickly with no sense of loss or of deficiency or of having missed anything; for the author has not learned how to write and perhaps never will, and there is no need for you to offer yourself as a sounding board for his incompetence.
No book, however good, should ever be read as a task. If you do so read a book, it is very likely that you will not only get nothing out of it but that you will have toward the book and its author a repugnance that is unwarranted.