“Come to the edge.”
“We might fall.”
“Come to the edge.”
“It’s too high!”
“COME TO THE EDGE!”
And they came
And he pushed
And they flew.
- Christopher Logue from New Numbers (London: Jonathan Cape, 1969) pp. 65-66
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Quote d’année
Posted on December 28, 2009 by danspira
Dan, I have always enjoyed this quote. In fact, a former staffer of mine presented a framed copy of it to me when I left my last business, I think as a reminder to me of how I had pushed her and how she had grown from the experience.
While it may have been adapted or reprinted by Christopher Logue, I have always seen it attributed to Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918).
Best,
Chris
Great anecdote, Chris. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, properly attributing this quote was a test of the limits of my, er, punctiliousness. According to this entry in Wikipedia the folks at “Quote… Unquote” (BBC) say Logue wrote it, and it got “branded” to Apollinaire:
Christopher Logue’s poem “Come to the Edge” from New Numbers (London: Cape, 1969) pp. 65-66. It was originally written for a poster advertising an Apollinaire exhibition at the ICA in 1961 or 1962, and was titled “Apollinaire Said”; hence it is often misattributed to Apollinaire (Source: Quote…Unquote Newsletter, July 1995, p. 2).
I think I saw an image of the original poster on a website somewhere. In any case, it’s a great quote, worthy of further investigation.
That’s great to know, Dan! I will do my part to right the record on this! Good research.
I’ll start by telling Carolyn, the staffer who presented me with that framed quote. She is the type of person who needs to get this sort of thing right, which is why we always got along so well. Thanks again. Never should’ve doubted you!
LOL… wait… you *DOUBTED* me?? The nerve of some people…
Actually, properly attributing quotations is a strong value for me too. The hard thing sometimes for me is doing the research without killing the magic of the quote itself… though sometimes exploring the quote’s origins enhances my appreciation of it.
Thanks for you thoughtful comments, Chris.
can’t help thinking the quote is missing:
“right before they hit the ground”
at the end.
LMAO..!
“…after gliding down gracefully using the ram-air parachute that they didn’t realize they had all along.”
LMAO x 10!
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