Ernest Vincent Wright
Ernest Vincent Wright (1872October 7, 1939) was an American author known for his book '' Gadsby'', a 50,000-word novel which, except for the introduction and a note at the end, did not use the letter "e". Biography The biographical details of his life are unclear. A 2002 article in the ''Village Voice'' by Ed Park said he might have been English by birth but was more probably American. The article said he might have served in the navy and that he has been incorrectly called a graduate of MIT. The article says that he attended a vocational high school attached to MIT in 1888 but there is no record that he graduated. Park said rumors that Wright died within hours of ''Gadsby'' being published are untrue. In October 1930 Wright approached the ''Evening Independent'' newspaper and proposed it sponsor a blue lipogram writing competition, with $250 for the winner. In the letter, he boasted of the quality of ''Gadsby''. The newspaper declined his offer. A 2007 post on the ''Bookride'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gadsby (novel)
''Gadsby'' is a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright which does not include any words that contain the letter E, the most common letter in English. A work that deliberately avoids certain letters is known as a lipogram. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of Branton Hills, which is revitalized as a result of the efforts of protagonist John Gadsby and a youth organizer. Though vanity published and little noticed in its time, the book has since become a favorite of fans of constrained writing and is a sought-after rarity among some book collectors. Later editions of the book have sometimes carried the alternative subtitle ''50,000 Word Novel Without the Letter "E"''. Despite Wright's claim, some editions of the book accidentally contain a handful of uses of the letter "e". The 1939 first edition, for example, contains "the" three times and "officers" once. Lipogrammatic quality In the introduction to the book (which, not being part of the story, does contain the l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Wonderful Fairies Of The Sun
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ed Park
Ed Park (born 1970 in Buffalo, New York) is an American journalist and novelist. He was the executive editor of Penguin Press. Career Park was a founding editor of the magazine '' The Believer'' in 2003, and has been an editor at the Poetry Foundation, as well as the editor of the ''Village Voice''s Literary Supplement. Beginning in August 2006, soon after he lost his job at the ''Village Voice'', he circulated a PDF-only newsletter called "The New-York Ghost". From 2007 to 2011, he wrote the science-fiction column "Astral Weeks" for the ''Los Angeles Times''. In May 2008, his debut novel ''Personal Days'' was published by Random House. It was a finalist for that year's Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (then known as the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize), and the Asian American Literary Award. It was also named one of the ten best fiction books of the year by ''Time''. His stories, articles, and humor have appeared in ''The New Yorker''. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lipogram
A lipogram (from grc, λειπογράμματος, ''leipográmmatos'', "leaving out a letter") is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided.McArthur, Tom (1992). ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', p. 612. Oxford University Press. Extended Ancient Greek texts avoiding the letter sigma are the earliest examples of lipograms.Motte Jr, Warren F (1986). "Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature", pp. 100–101 University of Nebraska Press. Writing a lipogram may be a trivial task when avoiding uncommon letters like '' Z'', '' J'', '' Q'', or '' X'', but it is much more challenging to avoid common letters like '' E'', '' T'', or '' A'' in the English language, as the author must omit many ordinary words. Grammatically meaningful and smooth-flowing lipograms can be difficult to compose. Identifying lipograms can also be problematic, as there is always the pos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Self-publishing Press
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (print on demand) technology. It may also apply to albums, pamphlets, brochures, games, video content, artwork, and zines. Web fiction is also a major medium for self-publishing. Definitions Although self-publishing is not a new phenomenon, dating back to the 18th century, it has transformed during the internet age with new technologies and services providing increasing alternatives to traditional publishing, becoming a $1 billion market.Jennifer Alsever, Fortune magazine, 30 December 2016The Kindle Effect Retrieved 9 November 2017, "...has become a $1 billion industry..." However, with the increased ease of publishing and the range of services available, confusion has arisen as to what constitutes self-publishing. In 2022, the Society o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brotherhood Of Railroad Trainmen
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was a labor organization for railroad employees founded in 1883. Originally called the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, its purpose was to negotiate contracts with railroad management and to provide insurance for members. The BRT grew to become the largest brotherhood of operating railroad employees. In 1969, it merged with three other unions to form the United Transportation Union. Organization and membership The Brotherhood was organized into lodges. Its executive was elected every four years at the Grand Lodge Convention, including the president. There were four governing boards: the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees and Insurance, Board of Appeals, and Executive Board. Members in rail service included conductors and their assistants, dining car stewards, ticket collectors, train baggagemen, brakemen, and train flagmen. Member in yard service included yardmasters, yard conductors, switchtenders, foremen, flagmen, brakemen, switc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1872 Births
Year 187 ( CLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Quintius and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 940 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 187 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Septimius Severus marries Julia Domna (age 17), a Syrian princess, at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon). She is the youngest daughter of high-priest Julius Bassianus – a descendant of the Royal House of Emesa. Her elder sister is Julia Maesa. * Clodius Albinus defeats the Chatti, a highly organized German tribe that controlled the area that includes the Black Forest. By topic Religion * Olympianus succeeds Pertinax as bishop of Byzantium (until 198). Births * Cao Pi, Chinese emperor of the Cao Wei state (d. 226) * G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1939 Deaths
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to work with Germans. *** The Youth Protection Act was passed on April 30, 1938 and the Working Hours Regulations came into effect. *** The Jews name change decree has gone into effect. ** The rest of the world *** In Spain, it becomes a duty of all young women under 25 to complete compulsory work service for one year. *** First edition of the Vienna New Year's Concert. *** The company of technology and manufacturing scientific instruments Hewlett-Packard, was founded in a garage in Palo Alto, California, by William (Bill) Hewlett and David Packard. This garage is now considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley. *** Sydney, in Australia, records temperature of 45 ˚C, the highest record for the city. *** Philipp Etter took over as Swi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |