[Ads-l] Adage Origin: The Only Good Author Is a Dead Author

[Jesse Sheidlower]

The Dictionary of Americanisms has examples of _good Indian_ in this construction from 1868 and 1884, so, earlier.

Jesse Sheidlower

On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 03:49:44PM -0400, Stephen Goranson wrote:
> Perhaps someone has already traced this.
> If so, what is the chronological relation with "the only good Indian is a
> dead Indian" and "a good Indian is a dead Indian"?
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 1:54 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> 
> > Living authors are often viewed with a mixture of suspicion and
> > aggravation. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage:
> >
> > (1) The only good author is a dead author.
> > (2) All good authors are dead authors.
> > (3) The best author is a dead author.
> >
> > Jesse Sheidlower inquired off-line about this saying. Interestingly,
> > there are two different interpretations. Publishers and editors use
> > the adage to encapsulate a collection of complaints about writers,
> > e.g., late manuscripts, poor quality writing, and exorbitant monetary
> > demands.
> >
> > Academics and critics use the adage to signal that a delay is required
> > when evaluating the worthiness of a writer. Typically, the quality,
> > impact, and longevity of a literary oeuvre can only be accurately
> > judged many years after the author has died.
> >
> > Here is a link to the QI article:
> > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/09/16/good-author/
> >
> > The earliest match I found in the domain of publishing and editing
> > appeared on September 29, 1886. Anonymous editors received credit. The
> > earliest match in the domain of criticism and academia appeared on May
> > 29, 1895. The attribution was anonymous. Here is the beginning of an
> > overview showing selected examples together with dates and
> > attributions:
> >
> > 1886 Sep 29: … they will not pay a man for manuscript unless he will
> > agree to die before it is put in print. This precaution is taken so
> > that the author can’t come in afterward and “cuss” about the bad
> > proofreading. Also on the theory that the only really good author is a
> > dead one. (Attributed to anonymous “western editors”)
> >
> > 1895 May 29: We must not conclude that all good books are old books,
> > nor that all good authors are dead authors. (Anonymous)
> >
> > 1903 Feb: It is unnecessary to assume, of course, that the only good
> > authors are dead authors. Undue depreciation of the literature of the
> > day may be quite as futile as undue approval … (Edward Fuller)
> >
> > 1906 Sep 20: From the teacher’s point of view one is tempted to lay
> > down the rule that the only good authors are dead authors. (Irving
> > Babbitt)
> >
> > 1916 Apr 22: It is a mistake to suppose that the only good authors are
> > dead ones. Some colleges have fostered the idea that literary genius
> > is extinct. (A. S. Mackenzie)
> >
> > 1919 May: They were often bookworms that had bored their way through
> > countless musty volumes, it being their first axiom that the only good
> > author is a dead author. (Attitude ascribed to “old college
> > professors” by Elizabeth Hodgson)
> >
> > 1921 May: There have always been—there will always be—people like Mr.
> > Knox, who feel that the only good author is a dead author, and the
> > only good story an unpopular story. (Attitude ascribed to Vicesimus
> > Knox by an unnamed writer)
> >
> > Earlier citations and interesting material would be welcome.
> > Garson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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