Talk:A. A. Milne
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Some online sources list his birth as Scotland, but most say Hampstead, London. Does anyone know for certain? --rmhermen
English Author
Is the phrase "English author" intended to indicate the language he used, or his country of origin? If the latter, then this is inconsistent with the statement that he was born in Scotland. Bovlb 18:19, 2004 Mar 4 (UTC)
- "English" in the sense of a writer who lived in England and whose works are redolant of England. Milne was born in Scotland but was raised in London, spending all his formative years there; more importantly, his books reek of the place. He shouldn't be called "Scottish" - my wife was born in Rangoon because her American parents were stationed there, but you wouldn't call her Burmese.
Robert Burns is a Scottish writer not because of where he was born but because of his life and the tone of his works; similarly, Milne is an English writer.
- We could say "British" if this is a problem for anybody, but I think that's a little silly. - DavidWBrooks 19:28, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- There is often a great deal of conflation that goes on when describing the relationship between a person and a geopolitical area. For example, I claim that your wife could validly be described as Burmese, especially if she has or had any entitlement to citizenship there, but could also be described as American in culture, citizenship, upbringing or loyalty. Scotland and England, although different countries, have not maintained different citizenship recently; remaining objective tests include self-identification, primary place of residence, and place of birth. Of those, only place of birth is immutable. Bloodline is also an issue, but it tends to compound the same ambiguities; it is my personal observation that geopolitical identification by descent is more prevalent in America than in Europe (YMMV), except in the case of certain communities (e.g. Romany) that hold themselves apart.
- For comparison, George Orwell is described as British, although he was born in Bengal, was brought up in England, and did much of his writing on Jura. In his case, it could be seen as a reference to citizenship.
- I think most people would agree that Milne's writing is redolent/reeks of England (but not, for much of it, of London). If that's what is meant, perhaps we should simply say so explicitly, as this notable fact is not otherwise drawn out in this page. Bovlb 20:33, 2004 Mar 4 (UTC)
Anybody got a reference for Milne being a cartoonist? I can find nothing about it. None of the web biographies mention it, and I suspect that there is some confusion out there. DJ Clayworth 21:27, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)
- It's either a joke/vandal or a grotesque error (I suspect the former). I have removed it. - DavidWBrooks 13:28, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)
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