Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel

Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for “The Good War”, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.

Read more about Studs Terkel:  Early Life, Career, Later Life, Selected Works

Famous quotes by studs terkel:

    “Work is an essential part of being alive. Your work is your identity. It tells you who you are. It’s gotten so abstract. People don’t work for the sake of working. They’re working for a car, a new house, or a vacation. It’s not the work itself that’s important to them. There’s such a joy in doing work well.”
    —Kay Stepkin, U.S. baker. As quoted in Working, book 8, by Studs Terkel (1973)

    “... the wife of an executive would be a better wife had she been a secretary first. As a secretary, you learn to adjust to the boss’s moods. Many marriages would be happier if the wife would do that.”
    —Anne Bogan, U.S. executive secretary. As quoted in Working, book 1, by Studs Terkel (1973)

    “... all my letters are read. I like that. I usually put something in there that I would like the staff to see. If some of the staff are lazy and choose not to read the mail, I usually write on the envelope ‘Legal Mail.’ This way it will surely be read. It’s important that we educate everybody as we go along.”
    —Jean Gump, U.S. pacifist. As quoted in The Great Divide, book 2, section 10, by Studs Terkel (1988)

    “At a time when pimpery, lick-spittlery, and picking the public’s pocket are the order of the day—indeed, officially proclaimed as virtue—the poet must play the madcap to keep his balance. And ours.”
    —Studs Terkel (b. 1912)

    “I can’t be servile. I give service. There is a difference.”
    —Dolores Dante, U.S. waitress. As quoted in Working, book 5, by Studs Terkel (1973)