List of stutterers
Name Lifetime Comments
Arnold Bennett 1867-1931 English journalist and novelist
Michael Bentine 1922-1996 British comedian , script-writer , and reader of children 's books
Elizabeth Bowen 1899-1973 Irish novelist and short story writer
Lewis Carroll 1832-1898 English author , mathematician , logician , Anglican deacon and photographer
Jim Davis 1945-present American cartoonist
Machado de Assis 1838-1908 Brazilian novelist , short story writer , poet , and literary critic
Margaret Drabble 1939-present English novelist , biographer , and literary critic
Han , Fei Han Fei 280 BC - 233 BC Chinese philosopher and writer
Edward Hoagland 1932-present American nature and travel writer
Henry James 1843-1916 American-born writer and critic who spent most of his life in England
Dylan Jones 1960-present British journalist and editor
Somerset Maugham 1874-1965 English novelist , playwright , and short story writer
Michael McCurdy 1942-present American illustrator , author , and publisher
David Mitchell 1969-present English novelist
John Montague 1929-present Irish poet
Budd Schulberg 1914-2009 American screenwriter , television producer , novelist and sports writer
David Seidler 1937-present British screenwriter ; BAFTA and Academy Award -winning writer of The King 's Speech
David Shields 1956-present American writer of fiction and nonfiction
Nevil Shute 1899-1960 British novelist and aeronautical engineer
Peter Straub 1943-present American author and poet
Writers
Stuttering (alalia syllabaris), also known as stammering (alalia literalis or anarthria literalis), is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks during which the person who stutters is unable to produce sounds. The exact etiology of stuttering is unknown; both genetics and neurophysiology are thought to contribute. There are many treatments and speech-language pathology techniques available that may help increase fluency in some stutterers to the point where an untrained ear cannot identify a problem; however, there is essentially no cure for the disorder at present. People who stutter include British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, orator Demosthenes, King George VI, actor James Earl Jones, and country singer Mel Tillis. Churchill, whose stutter was particularly apparent to 1920s writers, was one of the 30% of stutterers who have an associated speech disorder - a lisp in his case - yet led his nation through World War II. Demosthenes stammered and was inarticulate as a youth, yet, through dedicated practice, using methods such as placing pebbles in his mouth, became a great orator of Ancient Greece. King George VI hired speech therapist Lionel Logue to enable him to speak to his Empire, and Logue effectively helped him accomplish this goal. This training and its results are the focus of the 2010 film The King's Speech. James Earl Jones has stated he was mute for many years of his youth yet he became an actor noted for the power of his voice. Mel Tillis stutters when talking but not when singing. Many people had their speech impediment only as a child and have overcome their condition.