On Writing: Grammar Goldmine
After years of searching, I finally found a cheap copy of my favorite grammar textbook AND an exercise book to match. I am thrilled. Perhaps it has something to do with working on a college campus, but I’ve finally been missing school again. I knew the love would return, I just didn’t know when. The time was Saturday, December 17, 2022, apparently, when Amazon delivered my little blue book of wonder.
As some of you know (I feel like I mention it all the time, but I have to get my money’s worth for that dang degree), I finished an MFA last August and I’ve been a little burnt out ever since. So burnt out in fact, I’ve barely written this year and I’ve only read less than a dozen books - so unlike me. I was overwhelmed and a little frustrated with my MFA experience and my love of reading and writing got the brunt of that frustration. My husband likes to remind me that we also got married this year, so with or without the creative frustration, I was also short on dedicated reading/writing time this year. Still…very unlike me.
Some good came of this little hiatus, though. I was forced into a selective and prejudiced reading and writing cycle again and I love it. No more was I required to read; no more did I have to suffer through confusing poetry and graphic non-fiction. No, I was now allowed to read whatever I wanted, at whatever pace I wanted. I was now allowed to write when the writing itch struck, which happened to be scarce this year, but not non-existent. Good, consistent writers may scoff at me, but I needed this year and I’m oddly grateful for it.
Which arrives us at today’s celebratory announcement: I found my favorite grammar textbook from my undergraduate work. It’s called, “Understanding English Grammar, 9th Edition” by Martha Kolln and Robert Funk. I say it took me years to find a “cheap” copy, because this textbook is about $150 normally. Thankfully, a new edition was released! Now, a used 9th edition runs for less than $15, and the exercise companion was less than $20. For under $50, I get my favorite class back.
I’ve always loved grammar. In middle and high school, I was giddy anytime we got to diagram sentences. While I was homeschooled and had free-range of my English textbooks, I would scour the pages for all assignments relating to diagraming and do them all for fun, skipping various important lessons on conjunction use and gerunds. Of course, I’d have to go back to those lessons, otherwise how would I know how to diagram a gerund?
By college, I’d honestly forgotten about diagraming. You don’t encounter it much after late middle school, a fact I mourn. I was pleasantly reminded of its existence when my Understanding the English Language class in college focused heavily on it. And in that class, I thrived, let me tell you.
Grammar is a puzzle, and I love puzzles. I’ll admit (and my husband can confirm) that I’m not very good at actual puzzles. But when it comes to the English language and all its organized insanity, the puzzling is so fun.
So I’ve started going through textbook, taking notes and listening to the Narnia soundtrack like I’m back in college again. I took about 6x pages of notes on chapter one, complete with highlighting and vocabulary to memorize. I’ve already learned about structural grammar and transitional grammar, about morphemes and phonemes, and I’ve even come to the conclusion that the word “ain’t” is a necessary word sadly ostracized and rejected by modern society.
Without giving away this entire book for free, I will be continuing to write about my “studies” on this blog. I’ve shied away from writing about my favorite subject for too long, because I know most people won’t be as interested as me. But if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll stick around. It would be a dream come true to find a fellow grammarian with whom I could share my English-puzzling love.
I know you’re out there somewhere.
