Category: words

“In January, Russian authorities were reported to have burned 53 books and removed more than 500 other volumes from two university libraries in the north-western Komi republic, on the grounds that they contained sentiments ‘alien to Russian ideology”'”

Louise Erdrich’s store, “Birchbark Books, features a canoe hanging upside down from the ceiling and an old Roman Catholic confessional that has been repurposed as a display case. There is also a reading loft marked off by a birch-log railing and a counter displaying Native American jewelry and artifacts.”

“After going through the massive trove of novels, the engine was tasked with writing sentences of its own based on what it had learned. It then compared its own work with text from books it had read, so as to continually improve its ability to generate better sentences.”

“Re-reading the book today … elicits a more feminist interpretation: The ‘dolls’ seem less like destructive forces and more like symbols of the female protagonists’ search for self-determination, in whatever limited forms it could take in the late 60s.”

Abby McIntyre: “In standard print, capitalizing these proper names is not an act of violence nor of authoritarianism nor of betrayal. It is simply an attempt at clarity.”

I think “they” is the way to proceed as a default, until English is spoken in a world where the inherent power disparity between the “hes” and “shes” is eradicated. I know it won’t happen in my lifetime, but as long as we continue to use a language that is inherently sexist, we will be forever perpetuating sexist ideology, even without intending to. I still do not know how to talk about this without inspiring fights – but it is an important one.

“Somehow every time it gets reported (every six or seven years or so) it is always received as a disgusting revelation. … I hear you protest. I concur: It sucks that this matters. And most people in publishing think it sucks, too, I assure you. … Given how pervasive the imperatives of celebrity culture are, why are we so surprised by this?” Laura Miller has the likely answer.

“Well, the only reason why Bookslut was interesting was because it didn’t make money, and when I realized the sacrifices I was going to have to make in order for it to make money, it wasn’t worth it.”

Laura Miller, with help from C.S. Lewis, explicates the difference. (Batman vs. Superman? Not an allegory. Inside Out? Allegory.)