From the WORDmeister: Have
you been feeling WORDless? Sorry about that. Here at the International Galactic
WORD Headquarters and Spa, we’ve been in a blackout since Tuesday. The cause
was not PG&E incompetence this time — the weather weinies said cyclonic
winds hit the North Coast of California, knocking stuff down all over the
place. We got our power back Friday night after 76 hours of powerlessness. No
heat, either. Warming up now. Send soup.
“There is no shortage of wonderful writers. What we lack
is a dependable mass of readers. According to a Pew Research Center survey,
adult Americans read an average of twelve books a year, heavily weighted on
either end of the age spectrum. How many read fiction? God only knows.”
—Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) and Suzanne McConnell, coauthors, “Pity
the Reader: On Writing with Style,” 2019. Image: Yousuf Karsh, 1990.
• Editorial Comment:
I’ve recently learned that a blackout is good for reading books.
PeezPix
Houda Beach
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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words
are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you
can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
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