Some have brewed a ha-ha about a new edition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that removes what is euphemistically called “the N word” and replaces it with the word, “slave.” This has brought all kinds of interesting trivia to light (“the N word” is used 219 times in Finn, “slave” is not actually a synonym for it, … Read More
Are You William Faulkner? Check Yes or No
An article in the current issue of The New Shetlander made me recall a writing teacher in college who, when asked about composing in the vernacular, gave this response. “You should ask yourself one question: Am I William Faulkner? If the answer is ‘no,’ then you should never write in the vernacular.” I’m not sure where the contempt for writing … Read More