10.03.2009 8:25 am
‘Strunk and White’: fusty or fresh?
Post-Dispatch Book Editor
Harry Levins, who reviews “Stylized” this Sunday, asks whether you use the little, 50-year-old bible of word nerds everywhere:
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of “The Elements of Style” - better known as “Strunk and White,” after its authors, English prof William Strunk and New Yorker writer E.B. White. The book has topped the 10 million sales mark, partly because so many teachers put it on their required reading list for students.
Did any of your high school English teachers or your college English professors ever order you to read Strunk & White? If so, did any of it stick with you?
Some readers call Strunk & White a terse guide to writing clear and simple prose. Others call Strunk & White a bunch of fuddy-duddy rules put down by two fuddy-duddy men. Where do you fall in this argument?
