A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself

A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself

Don Marquis was an American author, journalist, and playwright known for his wit and humor. He was best known for his characters Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the cat, who appeared in his popular newspaper columns in the early 20th century. Marquis was a prolific writer, producing a wide range of works including poetry, essays, and plays.

The quote “A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself” can be interpreted in the context of Don Marquis’s work. Marquis was known for his originality and creativity, and his characters Archy and Mehitabel were unlike anything else in literature at the time. Archy, a free-verse poet who typed his poems by jumping on the keys of a typewriter, and Mehitabel, a streetwise alley cat with a colorful past, were unique and memorable creations that captured the imagination of readers.

For Marquis, creating a sequel to his popular Archy and Mehitabel columns would have been a risky proposition. It would have been difficult to recapture the magic of the original characters and stories, and there was a real danger of falling into the trap of imitating himself. Marquis was a writer who prided himself on his originality and creativity, and he likely would have been wary of tarnishing his reputation by producing a lackluster sequel.