“I have been very careful not to let any theories or pet ideas of my own…” — Stephen Crane | V2Melody

“I have been very careful not to let any theories or pet ideas of my own creep into my work.”

Guarding against the intrusion of personal doctrine into the art · Letter, written in England (published 1900)

About Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane

1 November 1871–5 June 1900

Stephen Crane, born 1 November 1871 in Newark, New Jersey, and dead of tuberculosis on 5 June 1900 in Badenweiler, Germany, lived only twenty-eight years, yet his work altered the direction of American fiction, journalism, and poetry. He is commonly placed among the major writers of literary naturalism, beside such…

More by Stephen Crane

Poems by Stephen Crane

More remarks by Stephen Crane

“I am disappointed with success, and I am tired of abuse.”

Expressing disillusionment once fame arrived after years of struggle · Letter, written in England (published 1900)

“It seems a pity that this should be so—that art should be a child of suffering; and yet such seems to be the case.”

Observing that hardship can sharpen literary work · Letter, written in England (published 1900)

“Later I discovered that my creed was identical with the one of Howells and Garland and in this way I became involved in the beautiful war between those who say that art is man’s substitute for nature and we are most successful in art when we approach the nearest to nature and truth.”

Aligning himself with the realists against artificial cleverness · Letter to Lily Brandon, 29 February 1896