--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Christopher Hitchens is the greatest…" description: "\"Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in the English language.\" — Christopher Buckley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg" --- # Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in… ![“Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in the English language.” quote by Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg) > “Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in the English language.” [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement praises Hitchens as the preeminent essayist of his time, emphasizing his skill and influence in English prose. **In simple terms:** Hitchens is called the top living English essayist. Key Takeaway Recognize and read Hitchens' essays. Themes literature essayist influence Mood analytical critical Type literary evaluative When to use this quote - academic study - public discourse - writing workshops - literary criticism Key Concepts critical analysis rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - Do you agree with this assessment? - What makes an essayist 'great'? A Different Perspective The claim may be subjective and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) [Essayists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essayists/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Christopher Hitchens is perhaps the greatest orator ever. He's such a famous atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/christopher-hitchens-is-perhaps-the-greatest-orator-ever-he-s-such-a/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [Special qualities are required of the essayist. A poem or a novel may spring from the inner consciousness of an author. Reasoning poers must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-thompson/special-qualities-are-required-of-the-essayist-a-poem-or-a-novel-may/) [Flora Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-thompson/) > [The essayist . . . can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or his subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-essayist-can-pull-on-any-sort-of-shirt-be-any-sort-of-person/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Essayists, like poets, are born and not made, and for one worth remembering, the world is confronted with a hundred not worth reading. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/essayists-like-poets-are-born-and-not-made-and-for-one-worth/) [William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/) > [Any essayist setting out on a frail apparatus of notings and jottings is a brave person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/any-essayist-setting-out-on-a-frail-apparatus-of-notings-and-jottings/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [If Plutarch is the essayist I want to believe he is, he would want us all to sit in his chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/if-plutarch-is-the-essayist-i-want-to-believe-he-is-he-would-want-us/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-essayist-is-a-self-liberated-man-sustained-by-the-childish-belief-2/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-essayist-is-a-self-liberated-man-sustained-by-the-childish-belief/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [It is a curious fact that the word 'essayist' showed up in English before it existed in French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/it-is-a-curious-fact-that-the-word-essayist-showed-up-in-english/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [Essayists must not only be succinct but have original ideas and, even harder to come by, or to fake, likable voices. Consciously or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyra-mcfadden/essayists-must-not-only-be-succinct-but-have-original-ideas-and-even/) Cyra McFadden > [I thought that I wasn't an essayist because I just didn't see myself in a lot of the essays that were popular at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-thought-that-i-wasn-t-an-essayist-because-i-just-didn-t-see-myself/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I consider myself an essayist and a fiction writer. In the essays, I certainly have been influenced by some of the leading science essayists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-consider-myself-an-essayist-and-a-fiction-writer-in-the-essays-i/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Incidentally, I have also learned a bit about the importance of avoiding feminine embarrassment ('Daddy,' wrote Sophia when she enrolled at the New School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/incidentally-i-have-also-learned-a-bit-about-the-importance-of/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Atheism is a moral position - a rather rigid one, if you've ever read the opinions of its highest-profile espousers, Christopher Hitchens and Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/atheism-is-a-moral-position-a-rather-rigid-one-if-you-ve-ever-read/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [“Christopher Hitchens once said that he drinks “because it makes other people less boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-maarten-troost/christopher-hitchens-once-said-that-he-drinks-because-it-makes-other/) [J. Maarten Troost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-maarten-troost/) ## More by Christopher Buckley > [Oil they would buy from anyone. From Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/oil-they-would-buy-from-anyone-from-satan/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [Who knew, in 2000, that compassionate conservatism meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/who-knew-in-2000-that-compassionate-conservatism-meant-bigger/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [I looked at Mum and realized -- twang! -- that she was telling an untruth. A big untruth. And I remember thinking in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/i-looked-at-mum-and-realized-twang-that-she-was-telling-an-untruth-a/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [I'm a Republican, but I find Nancy Pelosi very attractive. She hasn't done a single thing as congressman or Speaker of the House that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/i-m-a-republican-but-i-find-nancy-pelosi-very-attractive-she-hasn-t/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [Reading any collection of a man's quotations is like eating the ingredients that go into a stew instead of cooking them together in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/reading-any-collection-of-a-man-s-quotations-is-like-eating-the/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [“Women might just have something to contribute to civilization other than their vaginas".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/women-might-just-have-something-to-contribute-to-civilization-other/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [That's the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/that-s-the-beauty-of-argument-if-you-argue-correctly-you-re-never/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [Nothing raises the national temperature more than a VACANCY sign hanging from the colonnaded front of the Supreme Court.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/nothing-raises-the-national-temperature-more-than-a-vacancy-sign/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [E-mails are the new herpes: You never get rid of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/e-mails-are-the-new-herpes-you-never-get-rid-of-them/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [I think that every man is afraid of his wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/i-think-that-every-man-is-afraid-of-his-wife/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [And each year now we know more, but we know no better — what we see in the sky is simply the softened gloss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/and-each-year-now-we-know-more-but-we-know-no-better-what-we-see-in/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [How many times had those awful words - "I know what I'm doing" - been uttered throughout history as prelude to disaster?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/how-many-times-had-those-awful-words-i-know-what-i-m-doing-been/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [The vice-president's tongue is several time zones ahead of his brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/the-vice-president-s-tongue-is-several-time-zones-ahead-of-his-brain/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [One realization does dawn upon the death of the second parent, namely that you've now moved into the green room to the River Styx.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/one-realization-does-dawn-upon-the-death-of-the-second-parent-namely/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) > [“Block of Death. Just inside the door on the left is the room where they held the proceedings. Jarek remarks that the SS officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/block-of-death-just-inside-the-door-on-the-left-is-the-room-where/) [Christopher Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) [Explore all 20 Christopher Buckley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/) ## More English language quotes > [“Fine’s a funny word, don’t you think? I don’t think there’s another like it in the English language that says so much while actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-chase/fine-s-a-funny-word-don-t-you-think-i-don-t-think-there-s-another/) [Emma Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-chase/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“Nevertheless . . was a word, certainly, but much more than a word, it was a concept. "Nevertheless" was what you said when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunonia-barry/nevertheless-was-a-word-certainly-but-much-more-than-a-word-it-was-a/) [Brunonia Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunonia-barry/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Hear me now or regret it later: Everything you write must be read aloud. Once all the context items are in place, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiro-adachi/hear-me-now-or-regret-it-later-everything-you-write-must-be-read/) Jiro Adachi > [It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/it-was-ronald-reagan-who-used-to-say-that-the-10-most-frightening/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [A pronoun, too, will aptly reflect the number of its antecedent: "they" does not refer to one person, no matter how many personalities she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elizabeth-gordon/a-pronoun-too-will-aptly-reflect-the-number-of-its-antecedent-they/) [Karen Elizabeth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elizabeth-gordon/) > [The collectors of revenue and the policeman are the only symbols by which millions in India's villages know British rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-collectors-of-revenue-and-the-policeman-are-the-only-symbols-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Nothing was worse than a bovine with a 150 IQ trying to wrap its stunned mollusk tongue around the finely tuned syllables of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-anderson/nothing-was-worse-than-a-bovine-with-a-150-iq-trying-to-wrap-its/) Gary Anderson > [English literature is a glorious inheritance which is open to all - there are no barriers, no coupons, and no restrictions. In the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/english-literature-is-a-glorious-inheritance-which-is-open-to-all/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“ 'Hubba-Hubba' never slips out," Zeke said. "You selected those words with deliberate intent, and I question your commitment to the respectable use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/hubba-hubba-never-slips-out-zeke-said-you-selected-those-words-with/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [Soundbite and slogan, strapline and headline, at every turn we meet hyperbole. The soaring inflation of the English language is more urgently in need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/soundbite-and-slogan-strapline-and-headline-at-every-turn-we-meet/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) [Browse all 686 English language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in the English language.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Buckley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-living-essayist-in-the-english/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "English language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-living-essayist-in-the-english/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/christopher-buckley-27730_english-language_christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-liv_2908784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living essayist in the English language.” — Christopher Buckley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Buckley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-buckley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Christopher Hitchens is the greatest living...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-living-essayist-in-the-english/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-buckley/christopher-hitchens-is-the-greatest-living-essayist-in-the-english/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```