The Sound on the Page : Style and Voice in Writing

A lot of space on this page has been devoted to defending The Elements of Style Illustrated against Yagoda's abrupt dismissal. Fair enough. Anyone who's ever read undergraduate prose in the days before the kids just copied it all from the 'net has to acknowledge that clarity and simplicity are the foundations of expression. If it ain't clear, it ain't stylish.
But Yagoda doesn't seem to be denying this obvious truth. He is simply saying that obeying the rigors of S&W is not the same as style in the sense that the word applies to our best writers.

*S&W talk about what makes style possible for any writer.
*Yagoda talks about the nature of style itself after the brush has been cleared, the foundation laid and all the unnecessary metaphors put away.

That said, this is a delightful and provocative book. It suffers, as any book on literary style must, from the necessity of using its subject matter as the means of its own discussion. That is, the style of a book about style is bound to be a little strained. (See Insights and Illusions of Philosophy for both explanation and evidence.)

The best use for this charming book is in forcing the reader's attention to words and style. The most horrific part is that it forces a writer's attention to his own words and style. It's nourishment for the former, medicine for the latter who would be well-advised to take small doses and continue writing.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and
the slightly stylish bang BANG: A Novel

The introduction ruined this for me. The author is so willfully wrong-headed, so determined to misunderstand Strunk & White's Elements of Style, and so arrogantly dismissive, that I dismissed him in my turn. Yagoda's own style is characterized by frequent italicization for emphasis, leading to a sing-song effect reminiscent of Valley-Girl speak--a bad habit affected by many contemporary writers trying to sound like "folks just talking," but really demonstrating a deep distrust of the written word. A good writer doesn't need italics to show where the emphasis should fall.

He is so breezily shallow that I thought, "Why should I listen to this man on this subject?" Not to mention the egregious proofreading errors. (For example, on page xx, the following: "One measure of this doctrine's weirdness is that its absolute inapplicability to E.B. White's own prose style, which, although outwardly plain, simple, orderly, and sincere, is also idiosyncratic, opinionated, and unmistakable." "That" should have been deleted. This was obviously written and edited on a computer and was left uncorrected after the sentence was recast from an earlier draft.)

Mr. Yagoda, please re-read The Elements of Style (or read it through for the first time, since I can't believe you've read it through attentively). Try to understand the last section. It is not advocating the erasure of personality from writing; it is only advocating the erasure of bad writing habits so that one's personality may appear more clearly. Then look at your own work again, examine your own writing habits (frequent italics, perhaps?), and let us know if you change your thesis. You can still explore authors' styles without denigrating a classic.

And another tip: citing Harold Bloom's violent prejudices as a justification for your own will not profit you with a large number of people.

Yagoda was a big disappointment for me. I found the writing turgid and I never quite got the organization of the book. He was handicapped by directly quoting so many different authors, whose individual styles (or writing and talking) presented a cacophony of different, clashing sounds. This is the first book I've read on writing that left me with little enlightenment.

As a writer and teacher of writing for over thirty years, I have read hundreds (thousands?) of books, articles, and conference presentations on style and how to teach it. This small book, with its own engaging style, combines advice, experiences, and examples from writers we all recognize. Excellent ! It could easily replace all the stuffy anthologies usually required in college classes.

This is a tremendous book, a must-read for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills. I've read many writing instruction books, from Zinsser's "On Writing Well" to Stein on Writing to Strunk and White, and this volume stands with the best of them.

The book demystifies (partially, at least) the various tics, choices, and talents that underlie many writers' styles. It's in-depth and intelligent. Extra bonus: it's highly readable. Yagoda's own style is engaging and keeps the educational material far above the standard-issue text. I found it encouraging.