It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
Herman Melville, “Hawthorne and His Mosses”, 1850
Why it matters
The idea in context
This is genuine Melville — from “Hawthorne and His Mosses” (1850), the essay he wrote in white heat after reading Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in The Literary World. Melville was defending American writers against the pressure to imitate English models. A year later he finished Moby-Dick: a book that failed commercially in exactly the original way he had praised, and became immortal for it.
Türkçe
Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.
Taklitte başarılı olmaktansa özgünlükte başarısız olmak daha iyidir.Herman Melville, “Hawthorne ve Yosunları”, 1850
Bu söz sahiden Melville'e aittir — Nathaniel Hawthorne'u okuduktan sonra büyük bir coşkuyla yazdığı ve The Literary World'de yayımlanan “Hawthorne and His Mosses” (1850) denemesinden. Melville, Amerikan yazarlarını İngiliz modellerini taklit baskısına karşı savunuyordu. Bir yıl sonra Moby Dick'i bitirdi: Tam da övdüğü o özgün biçimde ticari olarak başarısız olan, ama bu sayede ölümsüzleşen kitabı.
Source trail
Read beyond the card.
Widely attributed to Melville; attribution varies by collection.
Background reading: Herman MelvilleAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
