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I appreciate the way you captured your journey from getting information you hadn't considered and chasing that information to a new conclusion. Also, all the resources! I'm going to look into a bunch of these, and want to add "Writing the Other" by Nisi Shaw and Cynthia Ward. It's not a grammar book BUT it's a really good text for how to go about writing characters with identities the writer doesn't have a lived experience of. Part of it is about language and pitfalls of stereotyping to look for and avoid.

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Mar 9, 2023Liked by Elnora Fareman

Much appreciation for your call out on the self-appointed guardians of english grammar. I'm also very appreciative for all the resources and links you provided. Yes, we're long overdue for a discussion and re-evaluation regarding who decides what correct english is.

I've read Le Guin's "Steering the Craft" and appreciate her guidance. Samuel Delaney is another writer that I want to seek guidance from because I admire his wondrous use of language. He captured my fandom with Babel-17.

Your internal distress over having to throw over a formerly respected icon of English writing, reminds me of a scene from the graphic novel "The Invisibles" where the heroic characters are informed that... "You were never taught the all the letters of the TRUE alphabet, so we can say things that affect you.... like THIS."

Check out this dope and rather massive essay which includes some pages. Skip ahead to Figure 8 & 9 where THAT revelation is dropped on them like a mind-bomb.

https://imagetextjournal.com/language-and-thought-in-the-invisibles/

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