WIST Quotations

McGinley, Phyllis -- “A Choice of Weapons”

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 15:20:51 +0000

Sticks and stones are hard on bones
Aimed with angry art.
Words can sting like anything
But silence breaks the heart.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“A Choice of Weapons”
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “A Jewel in the Pocket,” Sixpence in Her Shoe (1964)

Dave — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:32:29 +0000

For a liberal arts education is not a tool like a hoe or a blueprint or an electric mixer. It is a true and precious stone which can glow just as wholesomely on a kitchen table as when it is put on exhibition in a jeweler’s window or bartered for bread and butter. Learning is a boon, a personal good. It is a light in the mind, a pleasure for the spirit, an object to be enjoyed. It is refreshment, warmth, illumination, a window from which we get a view of the world. To what barbarian plane are we descending when we demand that it serve only the economy?

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“A Jewel in the Pocket,” Sixpence in Her Shoe (1964)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “A Lost Privilege,” The Province of the Heart (1959)

Dave — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 22:11:02 +0000

Who could deny that privacy is a jewel? I has always been the mark of privilege, the distinguishing feature of a truly urbane culture. Out of the cave, the tribal teepee, the pueblo, the community fortress, man emerged to build himself a house of his own with a shelter in it for himself and his diversions. Every age has seen it so. The poor might have to huddle together in cities for need’s sake, and the frontiersman cling to his neighbors for the sake of protection. But in each civilization, as it advanced, those who could afford it chose the luxury of a withdrawing-place.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“A Lost Privilege,” The Province of the Heart (1959)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “A New Year and No Resolutions,” Woman’s Home Companion (Jan 1957)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 20:37:03 +0000

Gossip isn’t scandal and it’s not merely malicious. It’s chatter about the human race by lovers of the same. Gossip is the tool of the poet, the shop-talk of the scientist, and the consolation of the housewife, wit, tycoon and intellectual. It begins in the nursery and ends when speech is past.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“A New Year and No Resolutions,” Woman’s Home Companion (Jan 1957)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “Moody Reflections,” The New Yorker (13 Feb 1954)

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:08:14 +0000

When blithe to argument I come,
Though armed with facts, and merry,
May Providence protect me from
The fool as adversary,
Whose mind to him a kingdom is
Where reason lacks dominion,
Who calls conviction prejudice
And prejudice opinion.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“Moody Reflections,” The New Yorker (13 Feb 1954)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “Party Line,” Ladies’ Home Journal (1962)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 17:12:09 +0000

A successful party is a creative act, and creation is always painful.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“Party Line,” Ladies’ Home Journal (1962)
(Source)

Later reprinted in Sixpence in Her Shoe (1964).

McGinley, Phyllis -- “Suburbia: Of Thee I Sing,” Harper’s magazine (Dec 1949)

Dave — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 14:38:28 +0000

Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“Suburbia: Of Thee I Sing,” Harper’s magazine (Dec 1949)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “The Consolations of Illiteracy,” Saturday Review (1953-08-01)

Dave — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 18:27:04 +0000

There are books one needs maturity to enjoy, just as there are books an adult can come on too late to savor.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“The Consolations of Illiteracy,” Saturday Review (1953-08-01)
(Source)

Collected in The Province of the Heart (1959).

McGinley, Phyllis -- “What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)

Dave — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 13:52:13 +0000

For little boys are rancorous
When robbed of any myth,
And spiteful and cantankerous
To all their kin and kith.
But little girls can draw conclusions
And profit from their lost illusions.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
“What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)
(Source)

On when kids figure out that Santa Claus is not real.

McGinley, Phyllis -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 17:59:46 +0000

The mass of men live lives of quiet exasperation.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
(Attributed)

A take-off from Thoreau.

McGinley, Phyllis -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 22:26:32 +0000

Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy,
Happy New Year, everybody.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
(Attributed)

McGinley, Phyllis -- Saint-Watching, “Running to Paradise” (1969)

Dave — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 14:42:02 +0000

For the wonderful thing about saints is that they were human. They lost their tempers, got hungry, scolded God, were egotistical or testy or impatient in their turns, made mistakes and regretted them. Still they went on doggedly blundering toward heaven.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
Saint-Watching, “Running to Paradise” (1969)

McGinley, Phyllis -- The Province of the Heart (1959)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 21:34:47 +0000

The human animal needs a freedom seldom mentioned, freedom from intrusion. He needs a little privacy quite as much as he wants understanding or vitamins or exercise or praise.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
The Province of the Heart (1959)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- Poem (1952-03-15), “Homework for Annabelle,” st. 4, New Yorker, Vol. 28, No. 4

Dave — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 16:24:22 +0000

For high is the price of parenthood,
And daughters may cost you double.
You dare not forget, as you thought you could,
That youth is a plague and a trouble.

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) American author, poet
Poem (1952-03-15), “Homework for Annabelle,” st. 4, New Yorker, Vol. 28, No. 4
(Source)

Reprinted in Love Letters (1954). Full poem.