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Author Spotlight

December 2008 --- Martha Barnette

Martha Barnette has captivated audiences through her way with words as a co-host of public radio’s A Way with Words. With the support of iUniverse, she’s now captivating readers by bringing A Garden of Words and Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies, two of her most witty volumes that were out of print, back in print through iUniverse Back in Print publishing.

1. How do you select your book themes?

Martha Barnette: "Uncovering the stories behind the words we use is tremendous fun. It's fantastic way to discover all kinds of fascinating information about history, pop culture, science, literature, psychology, politics, art, technology, music, poetry, current events, and language. The topics I choose to write about – flowers, food, animals – are really excuses to write about my main interest, which is trying to solve the mystery of where those words come from. My goal is to share that thrill of the linguistic chase and capture that sense of wonder in my books."

2. Your radio program keeps you involved with investigating words. Is the investigation process different when you take on subjects for a book?

Martha Barnette: "The main difference is that writing books allows me much more time. For our radio show, 'A Way with Words,' we have to investigate things very quickly. But as every seasoned journalist knows, the key isn't that you have to know all the answers all the time. But you do need to know where to look to find them, and which sources are reliable and which are not."

3. With the questions you get from writers, what areas of grammar create the most common flubs?

Martha Barnette: "The difference between 'lie' and 'lay' is always a tough one. My mother, who was an English teacher, cured me of that problem in a matter of seconds, though. As a youngster, I mentioned that I'd been 'laying on the couch.' Her response was to clasp her hands under her chin, squeal with delight, and say, 'Oh, goody! How many eggs??? Now I won't have to go to the grocery!'

After that, I never confused 'lie' and 'lay' again! And I have to say, I can't help thinking of a hen and her eggs every time I hear 'lay' misused.

The other grammatical 'rule' that worries writers is the one about not ending your sentence with a preposition. Winston Churchill supposedly called this silly rule 'pedantic nonsense up with which I will not put!' It is indeed nonsense, a rule manufactured by grammarians hundreds of years ago trying to squeeze the swollen foot of English into the tight shoe of Latin grammar. As it happens, Latin syntax works differently, and the rule really makes no sense. It goes for splitting an infinitive: Feel free to go ahead and do it. My radio co-host and I won't mind!

Oh, and feel free to start your sentences with 'And' or 'But.' There's a long tradition of excellent writers in English doing exactly that. My co-host and I like to tell our listeners that grammar should be a tool that helps you write clearly and effectively. It's not about playing 'Gotcha!' It's about using those rules, all the better to 'dress your language for success.'"

4. One title you brought back in print with iUniverse, Ladyfingers and Nun’s Tummies, was chosen by the Los Angeles Times for its “100 Best Books of the Year” list. Why do you believe this book was so well received?

5. Was there a particular resource you kept retuning to while writing A Garden of Words?

For discovering the stories behind words, there's nothing like the Great Pyramid of the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary. There are lots of others available to writers for free at onelook.com. (Each has its charms, but my favorite of those is the American Heritage because it has great etymologies.)

Once I'd learned about flower names from reference books, I got out of my office and enlisted the help of horticultural specialists to give me a closer look at those flowers in real life. Understanding the stories behind their names gave me a much better appreciation of the physical beauty of the flowers themselves. And uncovering their linguistic "roots" led me to many more discoveries about language as well. I like to think of that book as an "anthology," from the Greek word "anthos," meaning "flower." The word "anthology" comes from Greek words that literally mean "a collection of flowers" – a kind of literary bouquet.

6. There are many people who have an idea for a book, but they do not know how to get started. What do you do when you can’t seem to find the right words to express your thoughts?

"First, listen to what you tell other people when you're away from your notebook and NOT trying to write. What's the one thing you simply can't stop talking about? Maybe you've been thinking you should write a certain kind of book, but you're actually more passionate about something else. Listen for the passion that's uniquely yours, and follow it.