Various things about words, and writing, and reading
Apparently my understanding of the term "po-faced" was too positive; the definitions I've found are more negative than the one I came up with. On the other hand, I seem to share a less-negative definition with a few others - mostly Americans?
So, recommended reading: Calvin Trillin's article about his late wife Alice in the current (March 27, 2006) New Yorker. He loved her. It made me cry.
And this:
I was reading a collection of essays about Jane Austen as the first,
greatest "chick lit" writer, when an entertaining writer puppeting a
debate between an academic and a general reader had the academic use
"flaunt" when he meant "flout." That is, the author did, or why else
would it be wrong? I had to go complain to people about it (I was in
the store, on break, at the time). I want writers to use words
correctly, because misuse breaks the flow of my reading. I expect -
trust - writers to know as much or more about the language as I
do. When they use a word differently, I am brought up short; if they
seem not to know they've made an error, I lose my trust in their
knowledge for a period or forever. I want unusual word choices to be a
challenge to me, to be intentional, to make me check the dictionary
and mull the nuances. I want that in poetry, I want it in prose.
Still, the book's fun for those of us who like lit crit and Austen and Crusie:
_Flirting With Pride And Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives On The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece_
So, recommended reading: Calvin Trillin's article about his late wife Alice in the current (March 27, 2006) New Yorker. He loved her. It made me cry.
And this:
I was reading a collection of essays about Jane Austen as the first,
greatest "chick lit" writer, when an entertaining writer puppeting a
debate between an academic and a general reader had the academic use
"flaunt" when he meant "flout." That is, the author did, or why else
would it be wrong? I had to go complain to people about it (I was in
the store, on break, at the time). I want writers to use words
correctly, because misuse breaks the flow of my reading. I expect -
trust - writers to know as much or more about the language as I
do. When they use a word differently, I am brought up short; if they
seem not to know they've made an error, I lose my trust in their
knowledge for a period or forever. I want unusual word choices to be a
challenge to me, to be intentional, to make me check the dictionary
and mull the nuances. I want that in poetry, I want it in prose.
Still, the book's fun for those of us who like lit crit and Austen and Crusie:
_Flirting With Pride And Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives On The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece_