Quote:
Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
That's an amusing essay. And it stands my earlier comment that his style is simple on its head.
The problem with those essays - and there are many like them - is that they assume language can be captured and made better. They destroy the idea of prose as poetry as they argue in favor of that result.
But it was amusing. I still think he's better doing a simple riff on an Indian walking to the gallows.
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I cannot believe that you, with all your rants on legalese and the way lawyers torture the truth, do not recognize that simplicity in language is a cornerstone of speaking the truth.
Hemingway, Burroughs, John D. McDonald. All these writers and others express themselves with directness and simplicty.
Even politicians, sometimes, embrace this in their communication. Can anyone deny that, whatever else you think of Ronald Reagan, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" is one of the most memorable and enduring quotes of the 20th century?
