Sentences to study from the author of Midnight’s Children, The Satanic Verses, and Shame, quotes about finding a great sentence and going for broke, and Rushdie on “Faith & Reason” with Bill Moyers
Were you friendly with each other? If so, was he approachable? He seems like he is a nice person to converse with. BTW, love the lines "To the poverty of the many / there seems to / be no end."
Yes, Salman and I were friends at Cambridge University, but we were at different colleges and in different faculties…it was the mid 60s and Cambridge University at that time was still very-old fashioned and not at all in synch with the changing times and the exciting alternative culture that was developing in 60s London..In fact, Salman and I felt as if we were in a ‘time-warp’….we were part of an arty group of students from different countries who felt like outsiders from the dominant English ex-boarding school rugby playing, champagne & beer swilling crowd…
We had a lot of fun…but all that’s a story for another day….
Wow! That does sound like a fantastic story. I was introduced to Rushdie's writings in grad school when I took a course on post-colonialism. Really enjoy his writing and am captivated whenever he gives interviews.
I'm so glad I came across this post - happened randomly. I'm a big fan of Rushdie, but also a fan of good sentences, something which I really started become conscious of after reading Stanley Fish's How to Write a Sentence (highly recommended). I apply some of Fish's wisdom in my teaching, but I really like the practical examples you've given here. Planning to adapt these exercises - letting you know in advance, Frank! (Gonna practice them first. 😊) Many thanks!
Fish’s book is fantastic! I’m glad you liked my post. I have another batch that I will be publishing soon when I return from vacation. Let me know how the exercises work with your students, too!
Another great thing is to take an admirable paragraph and rewrite in every person/tense etc .. spend a good deal of time with it, to learn how and why it works
I agree! In Gary Provost's book 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, he has an exercise for selecting a passage from a favorite book or piece of writing and just re-writing it to feel the word choice, rhythm, and pacing. There's something about the tactile experience that helps unlock my creativity and boost my confidence when I need it.
Thank you! The series was born out of my work teaching English, especially to students who were identified as English Learners. I invite you to check out some of my other writings, too.
Am officially subscribed. Just scoured a backlog of sentence modeling and enjoyed being introduced to A Fated Feast. Thx. My pub hasn't been online all too long, but feel free to give it a look:
Ooo, great question! I have to be honest and say I don't remember. I like to keep quotes and scraps of writing in my journal. That's where I found these.
I have not. It's been awhile since I've read Rushdie. The sentences I've pulled are from books and my notes from grad school. I'm currently reading The Illiad and a Star Wars book called The Dawn of Jedi :)
Think it is called 'Verily a New Hope' by Ian Doescher. Just looked him up again. He is an American fiction writer. We're all actually based in London, but when I saw these too things being combined a couple of years ago we had to get it. He seems to have mixed Shakespeare with lots of modern films e.g. 'Get Thee Back to the Future' and 'The Taming of the Clueless' (not yet read those ones but think my boys would like the former).Looks like they are even selling them at the Royal Shakespeare Company now. All very good for Shakespeare and public engagement anyway.
I love the Iliad ! Enjoy it ! I studied Homer’s Iliad in the original with Oliver Taplin many years ago as a Classics student. Really love the philosophy in the book, especially the theme of forgiveness. Many books need a reread, especially book 1, 9, 18, 22 and book 24 (the first and last especially )- I think 24 merits several readings.
Still one of my favourite papers and poems.
Really recommend any BBC Sounds podcasts on Homer and interviews with Taplin and Edith Hall on there. Taplin’s book ‘Homeric Soundings’ which focuses on the fact it would have been sung and part of an oral tradition is very good. Taplin thinks there was a singular Homer, a bard of special brilliance, though he relied on many who sang and came before him and would have sung about the story too. But his version was so good it ended up getting written down and he was properly around near the time when literacy became a phenomenon in Greece.
We did essays on the gods v free will, the importance of Homer for shaping the Greek national identity, how it inspired the Aeneid to shape the Roman one, and how the Aeneid changed critical aspects to do so, or subtly make a political point about Roman rule). Also myth, its relevance in tragedy and in life.
You might like the beginning of my article on Billionaires and Achilles’ heels in ‘the Nous Trap’ and its inspiration from the beginning of book 1. Although at present the egos we are reading about are not (yet) in conflict.
There are great books on Homeric language and the archaeology within the poems too. I did a separate paper the year after Homer on ‘Homeric archaeology.’ We know the poem evolved over a long time before it was written down and can see the oral tradition within it spanning hundreds of years e.g. references to Bronze Age objects and Linear B script which predates Greek, but Iron Age references too). Taplin’s book ‘Homeric Soundings’ is worth a read and will have good chapters. I wish I still had some of my old reading lists to share but his book will have some good ones in there if interested.
I recently got inspired to read Morpurgo’s version of Beowulf as kids in England are learning about Beowulf in school and it is wonderful too. Lots of food for thought on its differences and similarities to Homer and its importance in shaping the English national identity. I did English lit as a main paper before my degree, but not at university, so I had never read Beowulf in the original. My son’s reading about it at primary school sparked an interest in Heaney’s translation and we all enjoyed the movie with Angelina Jolie, which admittedly changes the poem a little bit!
Enjoy your reading and keep writing your articles. I really enjoyed reading them, and will look forward to anything on comedy when you do write one (curious to know who you’d pick for that one).
Thank you, Linda! I'm glad you enjoyed this. I LOVE playing with sentences like they're Legos - pieces to take apart and build something different, unique, and you.
Thank you @Thaddeus Thomas for the restack and for including this post in your Prose Style, Literary Theory, and Analysis post. Much appreciated!
I was at Cambridge University with Salman in 1965….
https://johnshanewayofthepoet.substack.com/p/lone-voice-crying-in-the-wilderness?r=4max28
There’s a comment you don’t come across every day.
Were you friendly with each other? If so, was he approachable? He seems like he is a nice person to converse with. BTW, love the lines "To the poverty of the many / there seems to / be no end."
Yes, Salman and I were friends at Cambridge University, but we were at different colleges and in different faculties…it was the mid 60s and Cambridge University at that time was still very-old fashioned and not at all in synch with the changing times and the exciting alternative culture that was developing in 60s London..In fact, Salman and I felt as if we were in a ‘time-warp’….we were part of an arty group of students from different countries who felt like outsiders from the dominant English ex-boarding school rugby playing, champagne & beer swilling crowd…
We had a lot of fun…but all that’s a story for another day….
Wow! That does sound like a fantastic story. I was introduced to Rushdie's writings in grad school when I took a course on post-colonialism. Really enjoy his writing and am captivated whenever he gives interviews.
Thanks for this! This month, I'm focusing on sentences. This came along at the right time!
Excellent! I’m glad this post came to you at the right time.
Wonderful article. Beautiful reminder there is so much joy in stringing words together just so to try and understand life’s mysteries. Thank you!
Thank you! I absolutely agree. It's amazing how simply putting a few words together can suddenly create magic.
These are insightful and useful. Great work! Looking forward to catching more of your stuff!
Thank you!
I'm so glad I came across this post - happened randomly. I'm a big fan of Rushdie, but also a fan of good sentences, something which I really started become conscious of after reading Stanley Fish's How to Write a Sentence (highly recommended). I apply some of Fish's wisdom in my teaching, but I really like the practical examples you've given here. Planning to adapt these exercises - letting you know in advance, Frank! (Gonna practice them first. 😊) Many thanks!
Fish’s book is fantastic! I’m glad you liked my post. I have another batch that I will be publishing soon when I return from vacation. Let me know how the exercises work with your students, too!
This was so incredibly helpful and such great prompts!
Thank you! I'm glad you found them helpful.
Another great thing is to take an admirable paragraph and rewrite in every person/tense etc .. spend a good deal of time with it, to learn how and why it works
I agree! In Gary Provost's book 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, he has an exercise for selecting a passage from a favorite book or piece of writing and just re-writing it to feel the word choice, rhythm, and pacing. There's something about the tactile experience that helps unlock my creativity and boost my confidence when I need it.
I just did it because David Peace said it in an interview and I’m an obsessive fan, but ya know, whatever sparks action 😂
What a great series! I went right into your Steinback version afterwards.
Thank you! The series was born out of my work teaching English, especially to students who were identified as English Learners. I invite you to check out some of my other writings, too.
Am officially subscribed. Just scoured a backlog of sentence modeling and enjoyed being introduced to A Fated Feast. Thx. My pub hasn't been online all too long, but feel free to give it a look:
https://pelahatchiepost.substack.com
Thank you! Just subscribed to your Substack, too!
Hey thanks!
I've just discovered your substack. You are the answer to my prayers.
That’s very kind to say. I hope you enjoy my other writings as well!
They from Elite or Storm?^^
Ooo, great question! I have to be honest and say I don't remember. I like to keep quotes and scraps of writing in my journal. That's where I found these.
The going for broke advice is my favorite. You will get slaughtered for it, so be prepared. Bring it.
I love the energy of the quote. The "give 'em hell" feeling that the world is there for the taking.
Great article. Just reading ‘Knife’ and it is incredible. Have you read it yet ?
I have not. It's been awhile since I've read Rushdie. The sentences I've pulled are from books and my notes from grad school. I'm currently reading The Illiad and a Star Wars book called The Dawn of Jedi :)
Ps is that the Star Wars book written like Shakespeare ? If so my other son loved that. A great way to get boys into Shakespeare
It’s from the expanded universes, I think. Didn’t know there was a Star Wars book written in Shakespearean style. How fun!
Think it is called 'Verily a New Hope' by Ian Doescher. Just looked him up again. He is an American fiction writer. We're all actually based in London, but when I saw these too things being combined a couple of years ago we had to get it. He seems to have mixed Shakespeare with lots of modern films e.g. 'Get Thee Back to the Future' and 'The Taming of the Clueless' (not yet read those ones but think my boys would like the former).Looks like they are even selling them at the Royal Shakespeare Company now. All very good for Shakespeare and public engagement anyway.
I love the Iliad ! Enjoy it ! I studied Homer’s Iliad in the original with Oliver Taplin many years ago as a Classics student. Really love the philosophy in the book, especially the theme of forgiveness. Many books need a reread, especially book 1, 9, 18, 22 and book 24 (the first and last especially )- I think 24 merits several readings.
Still one of my favourite papers and poems.
Really recommend any BBC Sounds podcasts on Homer and interviews with Taplin and Edith Hall on there. Taplin’s book ‘Homeric Soundings’ which focuses on the fact it would have been sung and part of an oral tradition is very good. Taplin thinks there was a singular Homer, a bard of special brilliance, though he relied on many who sang and came before him and would have sung about the story too. But his version was so good it ended up getting written down and he was properly around near the time when literacy became a phenomenon in Greece.
We did essays on the gods v free will, the importance of Homer for shaping the Greek national identity, how it inspired the Aeneid to shape the Roman one, and how the Aeneid changed critical aspects to do so, or subtly make a political point about Roman rule). Also myth, its relevance in tragedy and in life.
You might like the beginning of my article on Billionaires and Achilles’ heels in ‘the Nous Trap’ and its inspiration from the beginning of book 1. Although at present the egos we are reading about are not (yet) in conflict.
There are great books on Homeric language and the archaeology within the poems too. I did a separate paper the year after Homer on ‘Homeric archaeology.’ We know the poem evolved over a long time before it was written down and can see the oral tradition within it spanning hundreds of years e.g. references to Bronze Age objects and Linear B script which predates Greek, but Iron Age references too). Taplin’s book ‘Homeric Soundings’ is worth a read and will have good chapters. I wish I still had some of my old reading lists to share but his book will have some good ones in there if interested.
I recently got inspired to read Morpurgo’s version of Beowulf as kids in England are learning about Beowulf in school and it is wonderful too. Lots of food for thought on its differences and similarities to Homer and its importance in shaping the English national identity. I did English lit as a main paper before my degree, but not at university, so I had never read Beowulf in the original. My son’s reading about it at primary school sparked an interest in Heaney’s translation and we all enjoyed the movie with Angelina Jolie, which admittedly changes the poem a little bit!
Enjoy your reading and keep writing your articles. I really enjoyed reading them, and will look forward to anything on comedy when you do write one (curious to know who you’d pick for that one).
Thank you!
This was good!
Thank you, Linda! I'm glad you enjoyed this. I LOVE playing with sentences like they're Legos - pieces to take apart and build something different, unique, and you.