Reading a review by A. Alvarez (one of my favorite depressive Brit writers) of a Caroline Moorehead biography of Martha Gellhorn (one of my favorite reporters) in the April 8 NYRB, I came across an excellent little snippet from a youthful letter of hers:
The great temptation is to do what I call "fine writing," the beautiful mellow phrases and the carefully chosen words. That I must avoid like the plague; only the simple words; only the straight clear sentences. I am terribly frightened of "style."Not the final truth, of course, but a useful corrective to one's florid tendencies. Posted by languagehat at June 3, 2004 08:30 PM