[Ads-l] Adage: All Art Is Propaganda

[Jonathan Lighter]

In 1967 or 1968 I heard  (approximately) "The best art is the best
propaganda. For Communists, it's vice versa."

JL

On Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 9:12 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I received a request to explore the saying in the subject line which
> has been used by several prominent individuals.
>
> Versions of this adage are listed in a reference works such as: The
> New Yale Book of Quotations (2021), Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
> (2022), Book of African-American Quotations (2011), The Quotable
> Woman: 1800-1975 (1977), and Webster’s New World Dictionary of
> Quotable Definitions (1988).
>
> The new Quote Investigator article presents citations which occurred
> before any of the citations listed in the above references.
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/04/08/art-propaganda/
>
> Here is an overview with dates:
>
> 1916: Poet and editor Richard Hunt
> 1923: Professor of English Morris Edmund Speare
> 1924: Literary critic Ludwig Lewisohn
> 1925: Political activist Upton Sinclair
> 1926: Sociologist and activist W. E. B. Du Bois
> 1932: Poet and literary scholar William Ellery Leonard
> 1933: Playwright George Bernard Shaw (All great art and literature is
> propaganda)
> 1939: Novelist and essayist George Orwell
> 1950: Novelist and journalist Ann Petry (All truly great art is propaganda)
>
> [Begin acknowledgement]
> Great thanks to Martha Bridegam whose message led QI to formulate this
> question and perform this exploration. Bridegam told QI about the
> citations for W. E. B. Du Bois and George Orwell.
> [End acknowledgement]
>
> Feedback welcome
> Garson O'Toole
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org