Category: Books
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Rewriting: A 20th century phenomenon
The essence of writing is rewriting, says William Zinsser in his book, On Writing Well. With the arrival of the word processor, he says: “Two opposite things happened: good writers got better and bad writers got worse. Good writers welcomed the gift of being able to fuss endlessly with their…
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Fourth of July: This Land Is Your Land, Leaves of Grass
Today is the Fourth of July: US Independence Day. So here’s one of the most beautiful songs about America: This Land Is Your Land, by Woody Guthrie. Here it is sung by Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen. I just discovered that the Fourth of July was also the day Walt…
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William Zinsser: On Writing Well
I admire people who write fast and don’t have to think and rewrite like me. So I was surprised to read that even a writer and teacher like William Zinsser thought writing wasn’t easy. Here is what he says in his book, On Writing Well:
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Writing: From EB White to computer era
I have been reading the book, On Writing Well, by William Zinsser – the 30th anniversary edition, published in 2006. Zinsser begins his introduction with a description of a portrait of the New Yorker contributor EB White that captures the essence of the writer’s craft.
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Orwell: Why I write
I was re-reading George Orwell’s famous essay, Politics and the English language, on his birth anniversary three days ago. He was born at Motihari in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on June 25, 1903, and died in London on January 21, 1950, a few months after the publication of…
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Nature’s chief masterpiece
Of all those arts in which the wise excel,Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well. The quote used to appear in a Time magazine ad long ago. Hardly anyone remembers the author, John Sheffield, the Duke of Buckingham (1648-1721), for his poetry, but maybe that is why I love the quote…
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Blogs, Whitman, Singapore
Bloggers, feel free to write on about Singapore on your blogs and personal websites, the Media Development Authority has said on Facebook, clarifying the new rules that apply only to news sites. So words will continue to pour into cyberspace documenting everything on this island until blogging becomes passé and…
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The seven ages of language
Don’t make any conscious effort to improve your vocabulary, says Stephen King in his book, Stephen King: On Writing. Your vocabulary will grow as you read, he adds. And then he says: One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary,…
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Updike and Lawrence Durrell
I love the harmonies of the Beach Boys, the rush of air on the seashore, the heave and swell of waves, the sun going down on a blushing horizon, the full moon in sail on a starry night. And I love writers who can show me all this in sensuous,…
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Rabbit Redux: From hot metal to cold type
From hot metal to cold type to online, newspapers have undergone two revolutions since the Cold War. The news used to come hot off the press, the words set on stone. It was a noisy business.
Readiscovery 