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I am making some cards for a local non- profit, and yesterday I went online and gathered some inspirational/ motivational/encouraging quotes to use. Because I did not want to misquote, I began researching the messages ( to make sure I got the words exactly right) and was surprised to find that the great majority were wrongly attributed. It was easy to find the same quote repeated over and over and always giving credit to someone who never said or wrote the words! My dilemma is how to present the so- called quotes on a card. Should I just use the words with no attribution, even though some are so well-known that most people would say, well why didn’t she say Walt Whitman wrote that? Should I just give the name usually(wrongly) attached to the quote? ( I don’t think I can do that. Editing is in my genes.) Occasionally I was able to find a genuine source, but mostly the online fact checkers were only able to determine who didn’t say/ write the words.
I did some research into this dilemma and the idea that made the most sense to me was from Joe Devney:
"The general rule is to use the phrase “attributed to” instead of simply using the person’s name: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started’ — attributed to Mark Twain.” That phrasing signals that you are not saying that Mark Twain actually said that, only that someone has claimed he did."
Both good ideas! Thanks for the input. I think I will just avoid ones that I’m not sure of unless I really, really like it. Then I can use the “ attributed to”.
I have to admit over time I have seen a couple things credited to different people but honestly I never thought to verify quotes.
Well pppffft! How can they say X did not say it if they cant tell you who did??? That is not helpful at all! :P:::::
Attributed is a work around.
So is not giving an authors name in my mind. I see sentiments all the time that I am willing to bet belongs to someone but there is no name. Do you feel very strongly about giving credit?
I had a similar problem some months back but for me it was finding out who the author was/is as a person I had not heard of before....sometimes quotes come from people I may not like very much. I had the name and could not find the person. Or I saw the name but no discussion of them. Weird.
Have you looked at Brainy Quotes? They seem pretty reliable to me...you may find some there you like. They have tons of them.
Maybe not “ strongly”, but I prefer to give credit where due. I think it also can lend weight to the words.
Brainyquotes has lots of good aphorisms, but I quickly found that they have not been vetted for attribution. This all started with a card I saw on Pinterest that said “Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you. Walt Whitman”. I wanted to be sure I had the quote right, so I looked it up. That’s when I found that most sources, including Brainy Quotes, attribute it to Walt Whitman, but a site called Quote Investigator said no. It possibly came from someone named M B Whitman. Then I looked up one purportedly from MLK, Jr, and it, too, was incorrectly attributed. Unfortunately, most of these quotes haven’t been researched, so the inaccuracies just get repeated. I’ve largely gotten off of Facebook for this same reason. No patience for misinformation.
That is very disappointing to hear about Brainy Quotes. Dang.
I have a similar one from Elizabeth crafts
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows…It's what the sunflowers do- Helen Keller
Well your site says no....sigh. That is an interesting site. I almost got caught just reading forever.
I am wondering if there is a truly credible quote source now.
I am not going to get rid of the many many quote stamps I have but I may stop using the authors name. I like to give credit too but this has gotten too hard for me in terms of cards. Were I doing an article or paper then yes, I would be more assiduous about it.
Last edited by wavejumper; 10-26-2020 at 06:42 AM..
The Helen Keller one is the original with "It's what sunflowers do" added and, most likely, is accurate. I've found that writers (and others) will often expound on/expand a quote or an idea. Sometimes it crosses the line into plagiarism, but is often just adding to the original thought. I agree that many of the "quotes" we see in stamps could have been attributed to someone if they had researched it, but it doesn't seem to be an issue. Perhaps it's a "public domain" thing? I don't know the answer, just throwing more thoughts into the mix, lol.
I don't worry much about attributions on cards (in a scholarly work, yes). If I use a stamp that says "merry and bright", I am not concerned to add that Irving Berlin wrote it. Or if the stamp says, "O holy night", I'm not bothered that the stamp doesn't cite John Sullivan Dwight. Everything we put on a card was written by someone, but it's just a card.
I am wondering if there is a truly credible quote source now.
I try to go to Google Books whenever possible to find the actual quotes if they are from literature. One of my fave quotes is from the Kite Runner, but it's butchered everywhere.
I am going to force myself not to think too much on this question, and go with my initial thought/answer. Only because I can see myself spending oodles of time, going back and forth with myself on what the answer should be. Seriously, I've been told I "overthink things" more times than I can count. LOL My answer is, just use the saying, and don't give credit to anyone. That avoids any chance of crediting the wrong person, and takes up less space on the card.
***My brain started to go off on a tangent, thinking, "Hmmm, quoting the person who said it would give the sentiment more weight and meaning, so... " Then I started thinking of significant speeches given by important people where they used a quote from someone else that made the speech more compelling... Stopping right now, and moving on.
There are always old fashioned books, like "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations", that should be pretty reliable as far as attribution goes.
Good point! Interesting that Bartlett’s doesn’t pop up when searching online. I would think it should be front and center.
I’m sure many would say that I’m overthinking this, so I get what you mean. I really hate to be wrong, and I don’t like it when mistakes are accepted casually. I’m too old to change, but I figure the most I can do is control what I put out.
I appreciate the insights and opinions everyone has shared. I think for me the solution is attribution if I’m sure, and nothing when I’m not. Knowing me, I’ll probably avoid the latter if the quotation is commonly wrongly attributed.
Attribution dilemma - opinions, please
