Roy Blount, Jr.

Roy Blount, Jr. – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Discover the life and wit of Roy Blount, Jr., the American humorist-writer. Explore his biography, career milestones, philosophy, and many memorable quotes. Learn lessons from one of America’s most distinctive literary voices.

Introduction

Roy Alton Blount, Jr. (born October 4, 1941) is an American writer, humorist, journalist, and speaker whose voice has left a unique imprint on contemporary letters. Known for his sly wit, deep affection for language, and lively reflections on Southern life, Blount is one of those authors whose work invites both laughter and contemplation. Over decades, he has built a reputation as a genial observer of human foibles, a stylist with an ear for nuance, and a bridge between literary playfulness and serious thought. His legacy continues in his many books, essays, public appearances, and the many quotes that circulate among readers and lovers of language.

In this article, we will trace his life and career, explore the contexts that shaped him, examine his influence on American letters, and sample some of his most enduring and revealing observations.

Early Life and Family

Roy Blount, Jr. was born on October 4, 1941, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to parents Roy Alton Blount and Louise Floyd Blount.

He attended Ponce de Leon Elementary School in Decatur and later Decatur High School, where he showed early signs of his literary inclinations: he was class president and served as editor of the school newspaper The Scribbler.

His Southern surroundings, family life, and early immersion in writing and community would leave a lasting imprint on his sensibility — the charm, irony, and affection for place in his work often reflect these foundational years.

Youth and Education

Blount’s interest in writing and journalism led him to Vanderbilt University, where he won the Grantland Rice Journalism Scholarship and distinguished himself academically, graduating magna cum laude and becoming a Phi Beta Kappa.

Between university stints, Blount also served in the U.S. Army (1964–66) before embarking fully on a writing and journalistic career.

These educational and early life experiences nurtured not just his literary competence but his curiosity about language, culture, and the dynamics of place — themes he would return to again and again in his work.

Career and Achievements

Early Journalism and Sports Illustrated

After his formal studies, Blount began working in journalism. Early on, he was sports reporter and columnist for the Decatur-DeKalb News in 1958-59. Atlanta Journal.

In 1968, he joined Sports Illustrated as a staff writer and associate editor — a platform that would amplify his voice and reach. SI until 1975, continuing contributions thereafter.

During his time there, he chronicled the 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season in his book About Three Bricks Shy of a Load (1974), taking the title from a teammate’s self-deprecating remark: “We’re all about three bricks shy of a load.”

Transition to Freelance, Books, and Humor

After leaving Sports Illustrated as a full-time staffer, Blount pursued a freelance life of writing books, essays, humor, and performance. Alphabet Juice and Alphabetter Juice, Save Room for Pie, Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South, Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor, Crackers, and many others.

He has also written for major magazines including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and National Geographic. Roy Blount’s Happy Hour and a Half, praised by The New Yorker as “the most humorous and engaging fifty minutes in town.”

Blount has also been active in public and institutional life. He served as president of the Authors Guild. Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!. A Prairie Home Companion, and in 2010 made a cameo on HBO’s Treme.

He is also a musician: a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band largely composed of writers.

Recognition & Honors

Blount has held roles in literary organizations: he is a member of PEN and the Fellowship of Southern Authors, has been named a New York Public Library Literary Lion, and a Boston Public Library Literary Light.

Historical Milestones & Context

Roy Blount’s career spans a dynamic era of American letters, cultural shifts, and media transformation. He emerged in the late 20th century when journalism and magazine writing offered broad platforms for commentary, humor, and cultural critique. His time at Sports Illustrated placed him at the intersection of sports and storytelling at a moment when sports journalism was raising its profile.

Blount’s Southern roots link him to a rich tradition of American humor, satire, and regional identity stretching back to figures like Mark Twain and James Thurber. His writing often explores the South—not as a stereotype, but as a vibrant, complex terrain of history, language, and identity.

His career also bridges the print era and the digital age. He has engaged in debates over authors’ rights (for example concerning Amazon’s Kindle TTS royalty issues) and embraced new forms (such as interactive ebooks). His passage through multiple media—print, radio, performance—illustrates how a versatile writer adapts to evolving literary ecosystems.

Legacy and Influence

Roy Blount, Jr. leaves a multifaceted legacy:

• A Voice of Conversational Erudition: His writing is characterized by a conversational ease that belies deep knowledge of language, etymology, and culture. He makes readers feel that they’re in a living room conversation with a smart, witty friend.

• Bridging Humor and Seriousness: Blount shows that humor need not be superficial. His reflections often explore human longing, the quirks of language, and the subtleties of belonging.

• Influence on Contemporary Writers: His blending of personal anecdote, linguistic play, and regional reflection have inspired other writers seeking to balance wit and substance.

• Cultural Ambassador of Place: Through his Southern roots, he carries forward a tradition of writers who treat place not as mere backdrop but as character.

• Promoter of Literary Community: Through his roles with the Authors Guild and public presence, he has championed authors’ rights and the infrastructure that supports writers.

• Quotes & Aphorisms: His sayings circulate widely, ensuring that even readers who don’t read him regularly may internalize his touch on language and observation.

Personality and Talents

Blount’s personality shines through in his writing: affable but incisive, humorous but humane, generous with curiosity and critique. He seems to relish words, to delight in their bones and secret parts, and to invite readers into a shared play of language.

His talents are many:

1. Linguistic Sensitivity – He attends to nuance, etymology, subtext; he is a kind of amateur (and deeply capable) philologist.

2. Comic Timing & Wit – His humor often emerges from small observations, unexpected turns, and gentle self-exposure.

3. Narrative Flexibility – He moves between essays, memoir, humor, reportage, and performance with ease.

4. Cultural Sensibility – His work combines the particular (Southern life, familial quirks) and the universal (human longing, linguistic perplexity).

5. Public Engagement – He is not reclusive: he appears on radio, in public venues, in performance contexts, always with his distinct voice in tow.

Famous Quotes of Roy Blount, Jr.

Below are selected quotations that illustrate Blount’s wit, insight, and affection for language and life:

“A good heavy book holds you down. It’s an anchor that keeps you from getting up and having another gin and tonic.”
— What Men Don’t Tell Women

“Many a person has been saved from summer alcoholism, not to mention hypertoxicity, by Dostoyevsky.”

“Somebody informed me recently that the key to every art, from writing to gardening to sculpture, is creativity. I beg to differ.”

“We don’t want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods.”

“That’s American English for you: more roots than a mangrove swamp.”

“People may think of Southern humor in terms of missing teeth and outhouse accidents, but the best of it is a rich vein running through the best of Southern literature.”

“Even intellectuals should have learned by now that objective rationality is not the default position of the human mind, much less the bedrock of human affairs.”

“A dog will make eye contact. A cat will, too, but a cat’s eyes don’t even look entirely warm-blooded to me, whereas a dog’s eyes look human except less guarded.”

These quotes manifest his dual devotion: to playful language and to deeper reflection about human nature and culture.

Lessons from Roy Blount, Jr.

Reading and pondering Roy Blount’s life and work offers several lessons:

1. Cultivate curiosity about language. Blount shows that language is alive, layered, and endlessly interesting—if we pay attention.

2. Blend humor with depth. Laughter can open doors to insight. Humor need not undercut seriousness.

3. Stay rooted yet wide-ranging. Blount writes from Southern soil but reaches a universal audience; place can enrich rather than constrain.

4. Be adaptable across media. From print to radio to performance, he models flexibility without losing voice.

5. Value community and advocacy. His engagement in authors’ organizations reminds us the literary life depends not only on individual craft but structural support.

Conclusion

Roy Blount, Jr. is a gracious exemplar of what it means to live by the love of words, of place, and of observation. His life’s work—spanning journalism, books, humor, performance, public commentary—offers a model for writers who wish to blend craft with curiosity, wit with honesty. His memorable quotes live on precisely because they distill experience into little epiphanies, reminding readers that beneath the quotidian lies the possibility of wonder, absurdity, and insight.

If you are curious to read more, I encourage you to dive into Alphabet Juice, Save Room for Pie, or Long Time Leaving. And if you're designing a site or project around him, I’d be happy to help you refine it or curate more quotes.