Make Pun of Yourself: A Language Literature Romp
Books recommended by editors at Library Journal
 | Eunoia Bok, Christian 2009-08 - Coach House Press 9781552452257 Check Our Catalog
Poetry. Second Edition. The word "eunoia," which literally means "beautiful thinking," is the shortest word in English that contains all five vowels. Directly inspired by the Oulipo (l'Ouvroir de LittA[a�Arature Potentielle), a French writers' group interested in experimenting with different forms of literary constraint, Eunoia is a five-chapter book in which each chapter is a univocal lipogram--the first chapter has A as its only vowel, the second chapter E, etc. Each vowel takes on a distinct personality: the I is egotistical and romantic, the O jocular and obscene, the E elegiac and epic (including a retelling of the Iliad!). Stunning in its implications and masterful in its execution, Eunoia has developed a cult following, garnering extensive praise and winning the Griffin Poetry Prize. This edition features several new but related poems by Christian Bok and an expanded afterword. …More |
 | Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters Dunn, Mark 2002-09 - Anchor Books 9780385722438 Check Our Catalog
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram, * "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island's Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl's fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere. |
 | Amphigorey: Fifteen Books Gorey, Edward Illustrator Gorey, Edward 1980-01 - Perigee Books 9780399504334 Check Our Catalog
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 | A Spell for Chameleon Anthony, Piers 1987-03 - Del Rey Books 9780345347534 Check Our Catalog
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled--where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn't find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn't find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave.... …More |
 | Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Truss, Lynne 2006-04 - Gotham Books 9781592402038 Check Our Catalog
A bona fide publishing phenomenon, Lynne Truss's now classic #1 "New York Times" bestseller "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" makes its paperback debut after selling over 3 million copies worldwide in hardcover. …More |
 | Language Play Crystal, David Illustrator McLachlan, Ed 2001-06 - University of Chicago Press 9780226122052 Check Our Catalog
In this exhilarating and often hilarious book, David Crystal examines why we devote so much time and energy to language games, how professionals make a career of them, and how young children instinctively take to them. Crystal makes a simple argument-that since playing with language is so natural, a natural way to learn language is to play with it-while he discusses puns, crosswords, lipograms, comic alphabets, rhymes, funny voices taken from dialect and popular culture, limericks, anagrams, scat singing, and much more. …More |
 | Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences Florey, Kitty Burns 2007-11 - Harvest Books 9780156034432 Check Our Catalog
A veteran copyeditor studies the practice of diagramming sentences in a charming and funny look back at its odd history, its elegant method, and its rich, ongoing possibilities. …More |
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