Diary of a Mad Editor

“The primitive white strunk is an abomination . . . “– Mihkel Covey

Ah yes, the above quote is from a op-ed piece recently posted on The Outsider Writers website — a piece in which the writer disses with extreme contempt, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. A writer who dismisses Shrunk and White is akin to a Muslim dismissing the Qu’ran.

It’s not the first time a writer has questioned the relevance of the legendary style guide, although it may well be the most thoughtless and idiotic expression against poor old Strunk Jr. and famous student, E.B. White that I’ve ever read.

At the heart of this idiocy is the belief that the art of writing should exist without the craft of writing. While I do hold reasonable the notion that there is such a thing as the “art” of writing as well as the “craft” of writing and that they are very different things, I tell you from experience that they are not mutually exclusive. Craft devoid of art is just an instruction manual for the assembly of cheap furniture. But, the art devoid of solid craft? That’s just finger-painting and masturbation. Just as children need a parent to control their folly, so too do writers require a guiding hand to rein them in when they get out of control. Now, does that mean one should be a slave to craft? Of course not. I’m certain I’ve deviated from Strunk/White’s advice more than once in this very blog entry. But I haven’t tossed Strunk/White in the trash either — this invaluable little book, well-worn and dog-earred, is carefully ensconced on a shelf not two feet away from me. Right where it should be.