The Art of Good Writing
In “The Art of Good Writing,” Adam Haslett of the Financial Times considers the way in which sentence form dictates content. In reviewing Stanley Fish’s new book, Haslett compares the rules endorsed by Strunk and White — those emphasizing brevity — with some more complex sentences from Henry James, David Foster Wallace, and others, to show that meaning cannot be separated from sound. It’s an excellent article, and worth reading to see how it applies not just to literary fiction, but essay style in general.
