Crossroad Press discussion

This is a topic where you can ... well ... just SAY something. For instance... it is just me, or do you all avoid topics here where the heading of the discussion is horrifying in it's lack of grammar, even if you think you might be interested?

It's the Internet, David.

Most of these people think grammar sleeps with Grampa....

True. Still, I saw one. "Is there any other books like this one?" or something like that. My immediate thought was, God, I hope not. And then there is the your / you're thing - or people posting about a classic piece of literature they are clearly DETERMINED to hate and trying to trash it while more patient souls explain to them that maybe they should return to their copy of fifty-shades-of-whatever and leave the grown-up books on the shelf ...

My niece has been reading the classics in school.
She asked me "Why Shakespeare?" I told her that her teachers are hoping she can explain it to them.

That's another gap, I'm afraid. To ask someone with a teaching certificate and a bachelors in liberal arts to teach English Literature is not a winning proposition. It is also not possible to get Shakespearean scholars to teach High School in most cases. Not sure the bard is good fodder for them young'ins ... but Steinbeck, now...they can at least learn about that from Looney Tunes...

I don't think it's possible to get Shakespearean scholars to work, period.
Talk about beating dead meat.

When I was in high school, it was Doyle, Steinbeck, London and Tolkien.

I was lucky enough to get a teacher who sort of handed off Kurt Vonnegut Jr. to me if I was quiet about it.

I'll never forget reading Sirens of Titan, coming in, holding it out to her, and saying - um - you won't fail me if I write about what they DID in here right? You've read it? (lol) She had, she did not. I loved that class, and that book, though I'm probably still famous for standing up in my composition class and ranting that a noun was STILL A FREAKING PERSON, PLACE, or THING and that YES you really need a subject and a predicate and HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THIS AFTER 12 YEARS OF ENGLISH? ... silence ensued.

My high school English teacher insisted on calling me "Jan"....

David wrote: "I'll never forget reading Sirens of Titan, coming in, holding it out to her, and saying - um - you won't fail me if I write about what they DID in here right? You've read it? (lol) She had, she di..."

No translator?

I went to Catholic elementary school.

The nuns were set in their ways. Most ex-SS usually are a stubborn lot. Who read Silas Marner, ever?

I did one year of Catholic high school, then attended "Latin King High". Never saw an English teacher there.

If it weren't for Dr. Seuss and Algernon Blackwood, I'ed be an illiterate thug.

Hah. I am going to (soon I hope) write the novel "The Scarlet Rose" which will be the magical, good-and-evil, dark fantasy that The Scarlet Letter begs to be... Really, they put the priest to death for having sex, but the Governor's sister is a practicing witch?

I know I'm baffled.
Of course, I could be waffling, but you never can tell.