Chiasmus in The Boston Globe

Chiasmus occupies an important place in the history of American journalism. In fact, the informal motto of newspapers and journalists for nearly a hundred years has been:

The line is commonly attributed to the American writer, Finley Peter Dunne, and is clearly his brainchild. But he never quite said it this way. In fact, he never said it at all. He had his famous fictional character, Mr. Dooley, say it—in his inimitable fashion—in a 1902 book, Observations by Mr. Dooley:

"Th' newspaper does ivrything f'r us. It runs th' polis foorce an' th' banks, commands th' milishy, conthrols th' ligislachure, baptizes th' young, marries th' foolish, comforts th' afflicted, afflicts th' comfortable, buries th' dead an' roasts thim aftherward."

The expression has been borrowed and altered in many ways over the years. Clare Booth Luce employed it in a memorable tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt (which you can find in the chapter on "Chiastic Compliments and Insults" in Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.) And a fascinating version showed up in a line delivered by Gene Kelly in a great newspaper movie, Stanley Kramer's 1960 film, Inherit the Wind.

Another chiastic line is arguably the most famous quote in the history of the newspaper business. It's the famous definition of a good news story, from Charles A. Dana, the editor of The New York Sun in the late 1800s:

When I first got interested in chiasmus in the early 1990s, I discovered that some of the most interesting chiastic quotes were to be found, not in quotation anthologies or literary classics, but in the pages of the paper I read almost every day. A perfect example occurred early one morning in 1993. I was going through the morning Globe when, all of a sudden, my attention became riveted on one of the finest chiastic tributes I've ever seen. Written by an unnamed editorial writer for the paper, here it is (notice that it includes two separate examples of chiasmus):

Even the publisher has joined in the act. On the paper's 125th anniversary in 1997, publisher and CEO William O. Taylor employed chiasmus in a message to Globe readers:

In this section, you'll find chiastic quotes from The Boston Globe. Contributors include journalists and columnists, and occasionally Greater Boston residents whose chiastic observations have been featured in the pages of the paper. I'll present the quotes alphabetically by author, which will make it easy for you to find your favorite writer.

If you're a regular Globe reader and your favorite writers are not included, it's because I have not yet discovered a chiastic quote from them. If you know of any, please contact Dr. Mardy. If you're a Globe writer and your name is not included (Alex Beam, where are you?) feel free to send any of your chiastic creations.

 1991-1994
 1995-1998
 1999-2001