“I remember writing an article for the North American Review many years ago in which the editor claimed his Editorial right to change things to suit himself, and altered just one word — for the worse.”

A humorous but serious defence of an author's control over his wording · Letter, August 19, 1882

• Editors
• Precision
• Writing

“I don’t know that you have told me where it came from.”

A small glimpse of his continuing curiosity about the provenance of objects · Letter concerning a gift of snake skin

• Curiosity
• Knowledge
• Nature

“To write a lyric is like having a fit.”

One of his sharpest descriptions of poetry as an involuntary creative impulse · Letter, The Victim of Correspondents

• Creativity
• Inspiration
• Poetry