The Laughing String collects author and playwright Stephen Evans' thoughts on writing and the writing life, both what inspires him and what makes him smile. The title comes from a poem by W. B. Yeats: "Bred to a harder thing Than Triumph, turn away And like a laughing string Whereon mad fingers play Amid a place of stone, Be secret and exult, Because of all things known That is most difficult." Sometimes wry, sometimes opinionated, always thoughtful, The Laughing String records the concerns, concepts, and convictions of an author committed to the art, for better or worse.