Lawrence Clark Powell Quotes

United States, Librarian
September 3, 1906 – March, 14, 2001.

Lawrence Clark Powell (September 3, 1906–March 14, 2001) was a librarian, literary critic, bibliographer and author of more than 100 books. Powell "made a significant contribution to the literature of the library profession, but he also writes for the book-minded public. His interests are reflected in the subjects that recur throughout his writings; these are history and travel, especially concerning the American Southwest, rare books, libraries and librarianship, the book trade, and book collecting."

Also known as Literary Critic, Author

What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each new generation.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- Great
- Long
- Book
Unless their use by readers bring them to life, books are indeed dead things.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- Life

Books themselves need no defense. Their spokesmen come and go, their readers live and die, they remain constant.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- Live
- Die
We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them, however, has not changed.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- Work
- Children
- Age
To achieve lasting literature, fictional or factual, a writer needs perceptive vision, absorptive capacity, and creative strength.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- Vision
- Literature
Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.

Lawrence Clark Powell
No university in the world has ever risen to greatness without a correspondingly great library... When this is no longer true, then will our civilization have come to an end.

Lawrence Clark Powell
- World
- Great
- True