One Word: Contemporary Writers on the Words They Love or Loathe

by Molly McQuade (Editor)

"Readers will find that the words profiled here have a new trace of meaning, warmth, and a time-worn glow."—John Morse, publisher of Merriam-Webster, Inc. In One Contemporary Writers on the Words They Love or Loathe , Molly McQuade asks the question all writers love to what one word means the most to you, and why? Writers respond with a wild gallimaufry of their choosing, from ardor to bitchin' to thermostat to wrong to very . There is corn , not the vegetable but the idea, defining cultural generations; solmizate , meaning to sing an object into place; and delicious slang, such as darb and dassn't . Composed as expository or lyric essays, zinging one-liners, extended quips, jeremiads, etymological adventures, or fantastic romps, the writings address not only English words but also a select few from French, German, Japanese, Quechua, Basque, Igbo, and others. The result is like the best of filled with color, personality, and pomp. There is something delightful and significant for every reader who picks up this wonderful book. Includes contributions by Albert Goldbarth, Forrest Gander, Brenda Hillman, Mimi Schwartz, Daisy Fried, Thylias Moss, Srikanth Reddy, Susan Bernofsky, Michael Martone, Cole Swensen, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

lunch time book, riffs on ickybicky, lilac, colander, corn, . i wonder if my one word will be in there?
actually

nice book for readers and writers. has words authors either love or loath. one interesting one to me is a basque word lasai (relax, chill out, untroubled (and in basque can be an adjective, adverb or command (verb)) in spanish it would be tranquila, and basque has that equivalent, tranki, a command to chill out. now they say some basque have adopted the word zen instead of using lasai or tranki.
short chapters by different authors: daisy fried-wool, mary swander-topsoil, lawrence raab-sweetie, star black-bitchin', etc etc. also has index, and nice notes of contributors.

actually did not make it, actually.

[Mark Mikula · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an anthology, it is by its nature uneven, but I absolutely love the concept and execution of this book. I'd been looking for a book like this for a while and was very happy to find it. I appreciate that the book is not just about words that the selected authors love. It could be about a word that the solicited author hates or one that provokes significant thought. The majority of these essays are compelling. Many touch on etymology; more than I would expect dwell in mythology; and the best reflect on a word as it relates to a particular anecdote, feeling, or memory that is important for the author.

I'm a little surprised that I didn't know any of the authors who were asked to provide an essay. So ... I must really be out of touch with contemporary writers. I'll be looking carefully at the list of contributors, and looking into the work of the people who touched or tickled me the most.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that triggers competitiveness in some writers, they see a challenge. They think, Oh I’m going to choose the most mundane word in the world and be so crazy clever in my essay that everyone will clearly see I am the very most interesting of all the contributors. Skip those entries.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plodded through this one. I had really high expectations this would have some humor, or deeper emotional connection to these "words". Maybe if I had picked it up from time to time, instead of reading through it, I would have gotten more enjoyment out of it.

[cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

2011 Book 92/100

[Sarah M. Wells · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the idea of this book, but some of the essays fell short for me, possibly because I read it in conjunction with some AMAZING essays.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, very outside what I normally pick.