Lincoln "brought up on...Whitman"? I thought they were contemporaries, e.g., "Captain, my Captain".
I was wrong, not brought up but would spend hours reading his feet over one end of the couch or riding on his horse there is even a book out comparing the two styles. whitman was close to the civil war brought up is wrong influenced is the better term thanks. actually their lives in a strange way overlaped although they never met? from the hodpital whre whitman workedas a nurse and lincol would stat to get away. ot the hearse with lincoln's body being driven throug N.Y. city the famous picture taken of it looking out a window is whitman. kincoln as said to have memorized entire plays by shakespear and passages bywhitman. yesthe famous lincol eulogy poems when lilics "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" plus captain my captain. I cannot read the first poem without feeling its emotion
For a while I was reading a lot of WWI first person accounts -- books, diaries, letters, -- and I found them moving and lyrical.
Every generation has its writers, and its Everyman. I don't think we can be truly aware of the good writers until after that generation has passed.
WorldWar I diries and personal accounts ae very powerful I use to think that thewar intensity of the war brought this out. but then I read the viet nam first person accounts and they were a lot less lyrical hash in tone, maybe beause it was a different generation & war (Or just the sample)? I have only read few from I raq. What have been able to find are civilian letters to soldiers and they braek my heart.
Not Whitman. Robert Burns.
Whitman served as a nurse in the Washington DC area from Fredricksburg to the end of the war.
Lincoln only learned to read out-loud and and William Herndon, his law partner, found it annoying. Herndon mentioned what Lincoln was reading in his diary bercause he heard it word after word.
Writing takes practice. Other than filling out forms, and assignments from professors, how do we expect the younger generation to learn it.
I started out grading papers as 50% writing (spelling, grammar, and paragraph coherence) and 50% content. It took an enourmous amount of time. After several years of complaints by students that my courses were not English courses, so they shouldn't be graded on writing, I was advised by colleagues and the Dean to just focus on content. What I did was compile a list of spelling/usage errors, particularly for homonyms, which I called "No Excuse Errors", and attach it my Syllabi.
One of my favorites was that it was Satin that tempted Eve in the Garden. Another was "Please bare with me." (I did comment on that one with an "I don't think so.") One student actually wrote on an exam that the Buddha's real name was Goddamna Shithartha".
LOL. I will never post another comment here on eons again.
posted by hooda
5 months ago
One of my younger professional colleagues works for an online business press release service. It's a national franchise. They compile and e-blast daily business information releases to thousands of people across the world.
Companies send them a press release about something going on in the company; they rewrite to a specific format, then e-blast. Everybody gets paid.
He says it has become increasingly difficult to get the updates compiled because they have to spend more and more time deciphering what the original press release is trying to say/convey because it's written so poorly.
He wishes he could hire a dedicated rewrite person.
But no budget for one.
Perfect example of the lost skill of writing simple, declarative sentences that are clear, concise and understandable.
Declarative writing is a skill that can be taught.
Literary writing is an art that can only be encouraged.
Of the two, I think declarative writing is more useful.
More need for it.
Sad that it's not being taught like it should.
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wht R U tring 2 say, Quip? R U ir8 o in dspar?
(Would you believe I even know how to do this in Spanish? Now THAT'S sad!)
I really do enjoy your declarative writing skills Quippian. I do polightly disagree that declarative writing is more useful if you are willing to ponder the concept of 'usefullness'.
posted by hooda
5 months ago
