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May 31, 2011
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lickypickysticky: Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words Without Using the Letter “E” is a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of Branton Hills, which is revitalized thanks to the efforts of the protagonist, John Gadsby, and a youth group he organizes. The novel’s 50,110 words do not contain a single letter “e.” Though self-published and little-noticed in its time, the book is a favorite of fans of constrained writing and is a sought-after rarity among some book collectors. In Gadsby’s introduction, Wright says his primary difficulty was avoiding the “-ed” suffix for past tense verbs. He focused on using verbs that do not take the “-ed” suffix and constructions with “do” (for instance “did walk” instead of “walked”). Scarcity of word options also drastically limited discussion involving quantity, pronouns and many common words.

lickypickysticky:

Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words Without Using the Letter “E” is a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of Branton Hills, which is revitalized thanks to the efforts of the protagonist, John Gadsby, and a youth group he organizes. The novel’s 50,110 words do not contain a single letter “e.” Though self-published and little-noticed in its time, the book is a favorite of fans of constrained writing and is a sought-after rarity among some book collectors.

In Gadsby’s introduction, Wright says his primary difficulty was avoiding the “-ed” suffix for past tense verbs. He focused on using verbs that do not take the “-ed” suffix and constructions with “do” (for instance “did walk” instead of “walked”).

Scarcity of word options also drastically limited discussion involving quantity, pronouns and many common words.


(via sisifo)

Notes:

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    really want to read this!
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    I’d be fascinated
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