Famous Author Birthdays: January 1- 8

Ever wonder what author was born on this day? Here is a weekly list of author birthdays along with a few of their famous words.

January 1:

E.M (Edward Morgan) Foster was born (1879 – 1970).

His most notable works include A Room With A View and Howards End.

Favorite quotes by E.M. Foster:

-“Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don’t believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art’s sake.”

-“Have you ever noticed that there are people who do things which are most indelicate, and yet at the same time – beautiful? ”

-“Life is indeed dangerous, but not in the way morality would have us believe. It is indeed unmanageable, but the essence of it is not a battle. It is unmanageable because it is a romance, and its essence is romantic beauty.”

January 2:

Issac Asimov was born (1920-1992).

His most notable works include the short story “Nightfall.

Favorite quotes by Issac Asimov:

-“A poor idea well written is more likely to be accepted than a good idea poorly written. ”

-“When asked what he would do if he only had six months to live: Type faster.”

-“You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.”

January 3:

J.R.R. Tolkien was born (1892-1973).

His most notable works include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Favorite quotes by J.R.R. Tolkien:

-“Not all those who wander are lost.”

-“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

-“Courage is found in unlikely places.”

January 4:

Gao Xingjian was born (1940).

His most notable works include The Other Shore, One Man’s Bible, and the short story “Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather.

Favorite quotes by Gao Xingjian:

-“Everybody can write poetry, just like everybody knows how to make love.

-“To subvert is not the aim of literature, its value lies in discovering and revealing what is rarely known, little known, thought to be known but in fact not very well known of the truth of the human world. It would seem that truth is the unassailable and most basic quality of literature.”

-“Dreams are more real than reality itself, they’re closer to the self.”

January 5:

Umberto Eco was born (1932).

His most notable works include The Name of the Rose and Baldolino.

Favorite quotes by Umberto Eco:

-“A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements and clumsy hands. so the librarian protects the books not only against mankind but also against nature and devotes his life to this war with the forces of oblivion.”

-“The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.”

-“The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb.”

January 6:

Khalil Gibran was born (1883 – 1931).

His most notable works include The Prophet.

Favorite quotes by Khalil Gibran:

-“But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.”

-“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.”

-“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.”

January 7:

Zora Neal Hurston was born (1891-1960).

Her most notable works include Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Favorite quotes by Zora Neal Hurston:

-“Love, I find, is like singing. Everybody can do enough to satisfy themselves, though it may not impress the neighbors as being very much.”

-“I have been in sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and sword in my hands.”

-“Once you wake up thought in a man, you can never put it to sleep again.”

January 8:

Wilkie Collins was born (1824 – 1889).

His most notable works include The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Amadale, and No Name.

Favorite quotes by Wilkie Collins:

-“It is the nature of truth to struggle to the light.”

-“The law will argue any thing, with any body who will pay the law for the use of its brains and its time.”

-“It is one of my rules in life, never to notice what I don’t understand.”