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.
Thank you! I actually own Writing the Other, but I never had a chance to read it--I picked it up just before I decided that I wasn't going to be a writer anymore (ha, ha). I had no idea it had anything in it about language. I will definitely peruse that book too.
I was honestly surprised at how few "alternative" craft book lists I found. 3 doesn't seem like enough? But I'm very grateful to those I did find! A few other things I found but didn't mention:
I didn't find "decolonized" grammar books per se, but I found some written in the millennium we are currently living in that take a stance against prescriptivism.
I can't vouch for them, but maybe they are helpful?
The other thing I stumbled upon was an interesting critique of Matthew Salesses' Craft In The Real World. I love this book, but this article makes some very good points. Everything was up for recontextualization, apparently!
When I was doing the grammar course for my editing certification we used "Practical Grammar: a Canadian Writer's Resource", which seems pretty decent. They're at least up to date on pronoun usage and the singular "they".
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.
Oh wow, what a visceral representation! "How do we fight words?" Indeed. How do we fight words.
The essay itself looks v interesting! But as you say, massive--I've bookmarked it to come back to. Thanks for the link and the comment. Also glad to hear you found Steering the Craft worthwhile. I saw on the Invisible Archive list that Samuel Delaney has a book of writing essays....I had NO idea such a thing existed, which honestly is a crime. I'm looking forward to digging into these new-to-me treasures!
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.
Thank you! I actually own Writing the Other, but I never had a chance to read it--I picked it up just before I decided that I wasn't going to be a writer anymore (ha, ha). I had no idea it had anything in it about language. I will definitely peruse that book too.
I was honestly surprised at how few "alternative" craft book lists I found. 3 doesn't seem like enough? But I'm very grateful to those I did find! A few other things I found but didn't mention:
I didn't find "decolonized" grammar books per se, but I found some written in the millennium we are currently living in that take a stance against prescriptivism.
A Communicative Grammar of English https://a.co/d/0f5M3U4
A Student's Introduction to English https://a.co/d/1Nmz1t0
I can't vouch for them, but maybe they are helpful?
The other thing I stumbled upon was an interesting critique of Matthew Salesses' Craft In The Real World. I love this book, but this article makes some very good points. Everything was up for recontextualization, apparently!
The New, Weirdly Racist Guide to Writing Fiction https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/racist-guide-to-fiction-craft-in-the-real-world
Hurrah for resources!
When I was doing the grammar course for my editing certification we used "Practical Grammar: a Canadian Writer's Resource", which seems pretty decent. They're at least up to date on pronoun usage and the singular "they".
Oooh, thank you for that! I will check it out. Possibly pretty decent is the best we can hope for with a grammar book?
"Pretty decent" is definitely an improvement on "blatantly racist and classist."
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/
Oh wow, what a visceral representation! "How do we fight words?" Indeed. How do we fight words.
The essay itself looks v interesting! But as you say, massive--I've bookmarked it to come back to. Thanks for the link and the comment. Also glad to hear you found Steering the Craft worthwhile. I saw on the Invisible Archive list that Samuel Delaney has a book of writing essays....I had NO idea such a thing existed, which honestly is a crime. I'm looking forward to digging into these new-to-me treasures!