Zoe Akins (1886-1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author, born in Missouri. Notable for her work in theater and Hollywood, Akins achieved success with the play “Papa” (1914) and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1935 for her adaptation of Edith Wharton’s “The Old Maid.” Her versatility extended to screenplays during the transition from silent films to talkies. Akins’ notable play “The Greeks Had a Word For It” premiered on Broadway in 1930. Despite her contributions, she is not as widely remembered today, but her impact on literature and drama during the early to mid-20th century remains noteworthy. Akins passed away in 1958, leaving a legacy of diverse creative accomplishments.

Zoe Akins Quotes

1. “It is much more exquisite to be blown from the tree as a flower than to be shaken down as a shriveled and bitter fruit.”
— Zoe Akins

2. “Even the great can have only their own sort of greatness.”
— Zoe Akins

3. “Forgetting is the cost of living cheerfully.”
— Zoe Akins

4. “The success-haters. That’s what I call them — the people who have never got what they want and turned sour on everybody who has. The world’s full of them. As soon as you’ve made good they begin to watch for you to fail.”
— Zoe Akins

5. “Nothing seems so tragic to one who is old as the death of one who is young, and this alone proves that life is a good thing.”
— Zoe Akins

6. “It’s all right to tell a wife the brutal truth, but you’ve got to go sort of easy with your lady-love.”
— Zoe Akins

7. “Of bird and prophet and his light shall lead On through the darkness to eventual light, To undiscovered wealth, to newer need . . .”
— Zoe Akins

8. “No one can ever help loving anyone.”
— Zoe Akins

9. “Work alone qualifies us for life.”
— Zoe Akins

10. “Shutting one’s eyes is an art, my dear. I suppose there’s no use trying to make you see that – but that’s the only way one can stay married.”
— Zoe Akins

11. “To accuse is so easy that it is infamous to do so where proof is impossible!”
— Zoe Akins