FanFare

If "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" is your kind of language game, then Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea (2001) might be your kind of book. On the small coastal island of Nollop, named for Nevin Nollop, the supposed creator of the pangram* about the dog and the fox, a cenotaph bearing the famous sentence is falling apart, letter by letter. The town council decides that destroying letters is Nollop's divine will, and bans the use of each letter as it falls to the ground--with increasingly draconian punishments for anyone caught reading, writing, or speaking them. Can a a few desperate townspeople save language--and themselves--from these letter-perfect theocrats? * Pangram: "A phrase, sentence, or verse composed of all the letters of the alphabet." [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes on Feb 11, 2023 - 1 comment

Kirkus describes Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism as "[a] scrutiny of the social science behind cult communication. With the same verve demonstrated in her debut on feminism and language, Wordslut (2019), Montell explores how language can manipulate masses of people in detrimental ways. Using accessible prose, the author discusses the varied definitions of the word cult, the dangers of universally demonizing its terminology, and its murky history as society’s relationship with spirituality has evolved." [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes on Jan 12, 2022 - 1 comment

Kirkus: “The internet and mobile devices have brought us an explosion of writing by normal people,” writes [Gretchen] McCulloch, a Wired columnist and co-creator of the linguistics-focused podcast Lingthusiasm. In this provocative debut, the author celebrates the internet’s “vast sea of unedited, unfiltered words,” which constitute “a new genre, informal writing.”" [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes on Jan 26, 2020 - 3 comments

A collection of thirteen short stories, loosely linked together by the tension between artists, their interests, and the individuals who want to help/compel them into financial success. “Climbers” was previously published in Harper’s in 2014, and “On The Town” in Electric Literature in 2018. [more inside]
posted by Going To Maine on Jul 4, 2018 - 2 comments

Season Premiere: Lola Mendieta is in prison. Julián is back after some rest and psychiatric therapy. A new case awaits: the discovery of dated remains that could belong to El Cid, who was thought to be buried in the Burgos cathedral. Alonso and Amelia are sent with Ambrogio Spinola to the eleventh century to lead the investigation... which means pulling Julián from the team. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 22, 2018 - 12 comments

‘Step-‘, as in stepparents or stepchildren, originated in grief. Family structures have evolved, but are stepmothers now so tainted by fairytale associations with the word ‘wicked’ that we need new terminology? Lore’s Aaron Mahnke stops by to describe the lovelessness, literary tropes and life expectancy around ‘step-‘. [more inside]
posted by jazon on Jul 31, 2015 - 1 comment

You’d think you could trust dictionaries, but it turns out, they are riddled with LIES. Delivering this upsetting news is Eley Williams, who is just finishing up her PhD about mountweazels, esquivalience and other hoax words that lexicographers have snuck into dictionaries. [more inside]
posted by jazon on Mar 25, 2015 - 0 comments

Those words on museum walls that you can’t be bothered to read? They’re more important than you think… Exhibition-maker Rachel Souhami explains why. [more inside]
posted by jazon on Mar 12, 2015 - 0 comments

Every week since September 1989, a radio station in Finland has broadcast a weekly news bulletin…in Latin. WHY? Let’s find out! [more inside]
posted by jazon on Feb 25, 2015 - 2 comments

WARNING: this episode contains lots of swearing and words which some of you may find offensive. If, however, you love offensive words, you will enjoy this episode, which is all about how the C-word doesn't deserve to be the pariah of cusses. Warning, swear words ahead! [more inside]
posted by jazon on Feb 12, 2015 - 7 comments

Remember when ‘viral’ used to only mean something bad, IE something that would make you ill or destroy your computer? How things have changed. [more inside]
posted by jazon on Jan 28, 2015 - 0 comments