in maph, when i first started writing about jackie, i
kept a notecard on which i would write words. weird words, arcane words, clever
words, foreign words. really just any words that caught my attention.
the goal was to then work these words into the jackie
book. as a personal joke but also as a means of upping the ante. because i
thought biography could sound and be smart and, thus far, none of the biographies of
her had.
a few weeks ago, during an interview, an author said
something that's stuck with me. as a side-note to my inane statement about how
the story she had written read like a novel, she drifted into a discussion
about words.
and she said this: that we as writers have an obligation
to stretch ourselves and incorporate obscure or antiquated words into our work.
that it is our responsibility as writers to keep these words alive lest they fall into
disuse and fall out of the vernacular.
i heart that notion so hard. because there's nothing so
subversive as words. and i don't think it's a coincidence that, when reading
this author's book, i unconsciously slipped back into my old habit, jotting
down the words that struck me, writing on the back flap the words i wanted to
savor and to use.
5 comments:
I still remember how excited you were one afternoon when I randomly said the word swath.
One of my fondest word-geekiest moments ever.
Truth: I used to work the word "juxtaposition" into every paper I wrote in college, just because I could. Even creative assignments were subject to this rule.
Speaking of words to love, I present to you "gambol" which means "to skip about in play : frisk, frolic"
I also present to you "stiction: the force required to cause one body in contact with another to begin to move"
wait. that can't be real. is it?
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