E. M. Forster 
The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories 

The Celestial Omnibus and Other Stories is the title of a collection of short stories by English writer E. M. Forster, first published in 1911. It contains stories written over the previous ten years, and together with the collection The Eternal Moment forms part of Forster’s Collected Short Stories. “The Celestial Omnibus” is Forster’s way of warning against intellectual arrogance in the form of Mr. Bons (whose name is “snob” spelled backwards) and the importance of literature and poetry for their own sakes. It is in keeping with Forster’s common theme of human connection over societal repression.