When I was a kid, my father challenged me to read the NYT as an exercise.
My response: Bor-ing!
Years later, he extended the challenge to William Safire’s Sunday NYT Magazine columns, On Language.
Good scribes learn early on that half of writing is extensive reading: I credit Safire with expanding my vocabulary, and teaching me how to construct a solid article. He also showed that sometimes you have to write what want, regardless of what the readership (thought it) wanted.
He passed this weekend.
A few items:
• Be sure to see this Safire column, circa 2005: How to Read a Column
• Safire was criticized for his erroneous linkage of Saddam Hussein and al Queda: The Propaganda of William Safire.
• His TDS appearance:
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| William Safire | ||||
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