Read more
Zusatztext it is written in [the author's] wonderfully approachable, affable voice; it emphasizes the need to indulge one's own impetus when writing, to pour oneself into "freewrites" ... The book is organized in a unique and purposeful manner ... Highly recommended. Informationen zum Autor Peter Elbow is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he also directed the Writing Program from 1996 until 2000. He is the author of Writing Without Teachers (Oxford UP 1973), Writing With Power (Oxford UP 1981), Embracing Contraries (Oxford UP, 1986), Everyone Can Write (Oxford UP, 2000), and Being A Writer (McGraw-Hill, 2002). Klappentext Since the publication of his groundbreaking books Writing Without Teachers and Writing with Power, Peter Elbow has revolutionized the way we think about writing. As a theorist, teacher, and uncommonly engaging writer himself, he has long championed our innate ability to write effectively. Now, in Vernacular Eloquence, Elbow turns his attention to the role of the spoken word in writing. He begins by questioning the basic cultural assumption that speaking and writing are two very different, incompatible modes of expression, and that we should keep them separate. The book explores the many linguistic and rhetorical virtues of speech--spontaneity, naturalness of expression, fluidity of thought--to show that many of these virtues can usefully be brought to writing. Elbow suggests that we begin the writing process by "speaking " our words onto the page, letting the words and ideas flow without struggling to be "correct. " Speaking can help us at the later stages of writing, too, as we read drafts aloud and then revise until the language feels right in the mouth and sounds right in the ear. The result is stronger, clearer, more natural writing that avoids the stilted, worried-over quality that so often alienates (and bores) the reader. Elbow connects these practices to a larger theoretical discussion of literacy in our culture, arguing that our rules for correct writing make it harder than necessary to write well. In particular, our culture's conception of proper writing devalues the human voice, the body, and the linguistic power of people without privilege. Written with Elbow's customary verve and insight, Vernacular Eloquence shows how to bring the pleasures we all enjoy in speaking to the all-too-often needlessly arduous task of writing. Zusammenfassung A writing guide for the twenty-first century, Vernacular Eloquence explores how the variety of ways the spoken word can enhance the written word, drawing on examples from blogs, email, and other recent trends. Inhaltsverzeichnis PART ONE. What's Best in Speaking And Writing? Introduction: Defining "Speech" and "Writing" 1. Speech and Writing as They Are Used: The Role of Culture 2. What's Good about Writing 3. Speaking as a Process: What Can It Offer Writing? 4. Speech as a Product: Eight Virtues in Careless Spoken Language that Careful Writing Needs 5. Intonation: A Virtue for Writing Found at the Root of Everyday Speech 6. Can We Really Have the Best of Both Worlds? PART TWO. A Role for the Tongue During the Early Stages of Writing: Treating Speech as Writing Introduction: More Defining 7. What is Speaking Onto the Page and How Does Freewriting Teach it? 8. Where Else Do We See Unplanned Speaking onto the Page? 9. Objections to Speaking onto the Page--And Responses 10. The Need for Care: Unplanned Speaking onto the Page is Never Enough PART THREE. A Role for the Tongue During Late Revising: Reading Aloud and Treating Writing as Speech Introduction 11. Revising by Reading Aloud. What the Mouth and the Ear Know 12. How Does Revising by Reading Aloud Actually Work? 13. Punctuation: Living with Two Traditions 14. Good Enough Punctuation by Reading Aloud and Listening 15. ...
