[PW] Ghost-Written Famous Quotations

[Nina Gilbert]

Two thoughts that may not be what you're looking for, and one that may be.

First, the two may-nots:

1.  Would the connection of JFK "Ask not what..." to the headmaster at Choate be ghostwriting?

I've seen this citation for that:  Edward Wyatt, "Two Authors Ask About 'Ask Not'" (book review),
NYT on the Web, 10May05.

2.  Also, isn't there something in your Stumpers book about Chief Seattle's Psalm being written by a screenwriter?  Don't know if that counts as ghostwriting, since Seattle didn't actually say the words.  But if it does, there are other examples of film versions of quotes being remembered as fact.

Okay, now the may-be:  a whole category.  What about songs?  Say, if a singer is so connected with a song that people think the singer originated the words.  "To quote Frank Sinatra, 'I did it my way.'"  There must be dozens of examples like that.

Hope this helps,

Nina Gilbert
Education and Community Programs Manager, Boston Lyric Opera
 
------------------------------------------------
Nina Gilbert
ninagilbert at yahoo.com


----- Original Message
 ----
From: Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
To: list at project-wombat.org
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 3:49:17 PM
Subject: Re: [PW] Ghost-Written Famous Quotations

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007, Bill Walker wrote:

> Are you thinking of quotes like Agnew's calling the press "nattering
> nabobs of negativism?'  A famous quote of his that was actually written
> by William Safire?

Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing I am looking for.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
   Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University
 Press
Yale Law School                             ISBN 0300107986
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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