This April, the famed collaborative work of two Cornell alumni, William Strunk Jr., grad, 1896, and English professor, and E.B. White ’21, The Elements of Style celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Known today as a universal guide in stylistic and grammatical writing for students, The Elements of Style’s history connects two generations of Cornellians.

Originally written in 1918 by Strunk, this “little book,” as White constantly referred to it, laid down the foundation for efficacious writing.

Strunk was able to consolidate the handbook by narrowing down the principles of writing to only eight basic rules of usage, 10 principles of composition and “a few matters of form,” according newsday.com.

In a hallway hidden in the back of Goldwin Smith Hall, there is a worn metal plaque that hangs outside a certain office. It reads: “The writer Vladimir Nabokov 1899-1977 occupied this office during his tenure at Cornell University 1948-1959.”

Prof. Kenneth McClane ’73, English, who also received his MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell and is the current W.E.B. DuBois Professor of Literature, has occupied that office for six or seven years. The space, however, has not lost its magic for the veteran professor and author, as it continues to humble its current occupant.