Catherine Drinker Bowen Quotes

A collection of quotes by Catherine Drinker Bowen.

Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897-1973) was an American writer known for her biographical works. Born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, she gained recognition for her extensive research and vivid storytelling style. Bowen's notable biographies include "John Adams and the American Revolution" (1950), for which she received the National Book Award, and "The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke" (1957). Her works often focused on historical figures and events, offering a rich portrayal of their lives and times. Catherine Drinker Bowen's contributions left a lasting impact on the field of biography writing.

Writers seldom choose as friends those self-contained charac

Writers seldom choose as friends those self-contained characters who are never in trouble, never unhappy or ill, never make mistakes, and always count their change when it is handed to them.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Authors & Writing

For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realizati

For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Authors & Writing

In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. A

In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. And if they are, the fictional points should be printed in red ink, the facts printed in black ink.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Legacy

Many a man who has known himself at ten forgets himself utte

Many a man who has known himself at ten forgets himself utterly between ten and thirty.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Identity

The professors laugh at themselves, they laugh at life; they

The professors laugh at themselves, they laugh at life; they long ago abjured the bitch-goddess Success, and the best of them will fight for his scholastic ideals with a courage and persistence that would shame a soldier. The professor is not afraid of words like truth; in fact he is not afraid of words at all.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Scholars Scholarship