The Life Cycle Of A Literary Genius by E.B. White, 1926
The magic trick:
Being genuinely funny
This one was brought to my and many others’ attention this year as the leadoff selection in the new A Century Of Fiction In The New Yorker, commemorating the magazine’s centennial.
And, wow, is it funny.
Like really, really, really funny.
In just six small paragraphs, E.B. White made me smile about four times and laugh out loud twice. The language is perfect, the ideas hilarious, and the ending: chef’s kiss.
And that’s quite a trick on White’s part.
The selection:
Encouraged by success, at twenty-four years of age writes whimsical article on “Sex Above 138th Street,” which he sends to popular magazine. The article refers incidentally to seventeen-year locusts. Editor of magazine marks it Use When Timely and publishes it sixteen years later when the locusts appear.
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