What a Sad Little Face!

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(The missing word in the caption is "vegetarian".)

Uses of Language

At the Hoover Institution website is an article about George Orwell, his use of language, and why the preservation and use of the English language is important. The article is titled "Orwell's Instructive Errors" and was written by Liam Julian.

The article discusses what Orwell had to say in his essays about the use of language and also how Orwell himself used language in some of his writings. One of the essays referred to is "Politics and the English Language".

These two pieces are of interest for political reasons, but also for the use of both readers and writers.

I don't agree with everything Liam Julian said. For example, in the following paragraph he seems to think right-wing extremists are the same as conservatives, which is assuredly not true.

It is, certainly, not only denizens of the left who theorize and euphemize their way out of inconvenient situations. The staunchest apologists for the worst elements of British Empire were conservatives, and now, as in Orwell’s time, it is conservatives who lean most heavily on theory to explain away indigence and squalor as inevitable in a free society and thereby rid themselves of responsibility to alleviate the burdens of the impoverished. Certainly America’s foremost racists are found on the right, and they have all sorts of theories. And yet such justifications — whether of racism, imperialism, neglect of the poor, or even creationism — currently have but parochial appeal. The left is in power now, and so it is that today’s most influential and worrisome euphemizing comes from the left.

Regarding racism in particular, it is people like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and, yes, Barack and Michelle Obama who keep racism most alive in America. They are not found on the right in America. Nonetheless, the article has some interesting things to say about the uses of language.

Remember Little Golden Books?

Little Golden Books have been a part of many children's early experience with the world of reading and of art. The illustrations were beautiful, the books were sturdy, and the stories and poems delightful.

For your reading pleasure, here is an article from the Weekly Standard about an art exhibition of paintings that illustrated these books.

From the Archives: Historical Research for Your Writing

If you are interested in writing about places and times not your own, you might find Times and Places a helpful site to visit. The link is to a page with some general articles at the top, followed by more specific groups of links. Try it out and see if it works for you!

At A Celebration of Women Writers you can find writings from women throughout time and all over the world. I've only begun to look at it myself, but it looks like enough reading to keep you busy for a long time! Like at Times and Places linked above, you may find information and ideas here to help your own writing.

Are there one or two websites about literature and/or writing that you really like? Feel free to leave an url in the comments!

One Writer's View

In 1946 George Orwell published an essay called "Why I Write". In it, he discusses why writing is important for him and what it involves. I thought you might like to read the essay and see what you think. How does what he says differ from your own thoughts about why you write?

Watching Trends in Book Publishing

Presumably, we are all thinking of being published some day. Although we usually don't write in a certain genre just to increase our chances of being published, it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on current trends in book publishing so that we know what's selling and what's not. It also helps to learn what category our writing might fall into.

One good place to check is Publisher's Weekly, a source for current news in the book world. An example of the kind of article you can run across there is "When Love is Strange: Romance Continues its Affair with the Supernatural". This piece is mostly about romance novels, but also touches on urban fantasy. Take a look at the main page at the first link above to get an idea of all they cover.

Why Writers Write

Here is an interesting site with 182 articles about why writers write. It is fascinating to read all the different viewpoints. It may also help you figure out why you want to write and figure out what kind of writing will best help you meet your goals.

Why Writers Write

Enjoy!