Monthly Archives: May 2009

The Stand-up Linguist Comedian

abcjuiceBlount, R., (2008). Alphabet Juice: the energies, gists, and spirits of letters, words, and combinations thereof; their roots, bones, innards,piths, pips, and secret parts, … with examples of their usage foul and savory.New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Blount is certainly knowledgeable about the English language. I can say I learned a great deal from this book; unfortunately, I found his attempts at humor a bit tiresome, and I sometimes felt like he was trying to show off all of his knowledge in one book.  Not comprehensive enough to be a useful reference work, and not funny enough to be a language humor book. Still, enjoyable.

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Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf

vitalettersA pleasant discovery, having read everything by Virginia Woolf, to get more insight into her relationship with Vits Sackville-West. This volume presents the development of the deepest kind of friendship, while showing us a nicely contrasted portrait of two very different kinds of women in the early twentieth century. Bothof these women seem to engender admiration from so many people, and yet it is clear that their own bond was something special. Vita takes great care in these letters to support Virginia emotionally, not only out of caring for her, but through a recognition that the work she was creating was truly important to literature.

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Burn This Book, Thinking About Censorship

burnthisbookMorrison, T., (2009). Burn This Book. City: HarperStudio.

 Anyone who has read even one book, poem or article or who has seen even one scripted play, movie or television program knows the power of the writer. The eleven writers of the essays in this book flesh out the reasons writing can affect people’s emotions and their actions. Toni Morrison calls this  power  a “necessity,” and each of the essays gives a different point of view as to why we should all be vigilant to see that the power of the written word remains freely available to all people everywhere.

These essays call into question what happens when writing makes us uncomfortable, makes us angry, makes us sick. The diversity of viewpoints presented includes Salman Rushdie, David Grossman, and Nadine Gordimer. Wherever you fall on the philosophical and political spectrum, you still have to face the question: Where do we draw the line on allowing the freedom of ideas?

Burn This Book says that trying to suppress ideas, and the written expression of those ideas, dehumanizes everyone, and breaks down social and cultural bonds. If you want to think about these things, and are interested in engaging in a dialogue to answer the questions, this is a good book to start with. If you find these ideas too uncomfortable and would rather avoid the whole subject, I think reading this book is a necessity.

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