Robert Hartwell Fiske

Robert Hartwell Fiske was the editor and publisher of The Vocabula Review, since 1999 an online journal about the English language.

He was the author of several books, including To the Point: A Dictionary of Concise Writing (Norton, 2014), The Dictionary of Unendurable English (Scribner, 2011), The Dimwit's Dictionary (Marion Street Press, 2011), and Elegant English. He was the editor of Vocabula Bound, a collection of essays and poems culled from the Vocabula Review; according to linguist Alan Kaye, the collection is "far too prescriptivist in orientation for a sophisticated linguistic audience".[1] In an appreciation following Fiske's death in 2016 of melanoma at the age of 68, the essayist Joseph Epstein called him " an unknown soldier in that most glorious and hopeless of wars, that against the ignorant and abusive use of language," although he acknowledged that Fiske was a prescriptivist whose work was not well-received by linguists.[2]

Dictionary of Unendurable English

Published in 2011 this indicates "the grammatical downfall of Western civilization" by listing 1000 common English language mistakes.[3] The National Post praised it as enjoyable for "word snobs and copy editors" and suggested it would be of value for those learning English.[4] The Globe and Mail was more critical, saying it is "so passionate in the prescriptivist cause of smiting the lax and the uncaring that the book at times resembles a parody of itself".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Kaye, Alan S. (2007). "Rev. of Fiske (ed.), Vocabula Bound". Language (journal) 83 (2): 459–60.
  2. ↑ Epstein, Joseph (3 May 2016). "Death of a Word Man: An appreciation of the author of ‘Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English.’". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Robert Hartwell Fiske's Dictionary of Unendurable English: A book review". NJ.com. December 18, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Book Review: Dictionary of Unendurable English, by Robert Hartwell Fiske". National Post. November 18, 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Clements, Warren (Nov 4, 2011). "Robert Hartwell Fiske: A fanatical stickler for diction". The Globe and Mail.

External links

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