Dew on a leaf -- Or, what does that title mean?
"staarcroft" What the heck is that? Why use that for a journal title?
Well, I admire Anne Fadiman. A lot. And that book over there -- Ex Libris -- is one of the few she's brought out so far.
There's an essay in the book, "Words On a Flyleaf." Originally published in Civilization, its topic is inscriptions within books. When she's talking about books that have been inscribed to her by friends, we read:
"Mark Helprin, who likes to leave messages on his friends' answering machines in spurious (but highly convincing) dialects, inscribed several of his books in imaginary languages. In A Dove of the East, he wrote Skanaarela tan floss atcha atcha qumble ta. Da bubo barta flay? Staarcroft. I spent the better part of a decade trying in vain to figure out what that meant."
I frequently feel spurious and imaginary myself. But there you go.
So, Helprin uses a capital. Why not I? Well... think of it as being overly e.e. cummings if you want. Someone I know, though, started me on a kick of using lower case with my name (or initial) to indicate a whisper, or a nudge, or just plain familiarity.
Well, I admire Anne Fadiman. A lot. And that book over there -- Ex Libris -- is one of the few she's brought out so far.
There's an essay in the book, "Words On a Flyleaf." Originally published in Civilization, its topic is inscriptions within books. When she's talking about books that have been inscribed to her by friends, we read:
"Mark Helprin, who likes to leave messages on his friends' answering machines in spurious (but highly convincing) dialects, inscribed several of his books in imaginary languages. In A Dove of the East, he wrote Skanaarela tan floss atcha atcha qumble ta. Da bubo barta flay? Staarcroft. I spent the better part of a decade trying in vain to figure out what that meant."
I frequently feel spurious and imaginary myself. But there you go.
So, Helprin uses a capital. Why not I? Well... think of it as being overly e.e. cummings if you want. Someone I know, though, started me on a kick of using lower case with my name (or initial) to indicate a whisper, or a nudge, or just plain familiarity.
