[UPDATE: Geoff Pullum responds probably more graciously than I deserve. It's good to know his insults were pretences--writing under odd constraints can make you say things you wouldn't otherwise. Perhaps that's what happened with Thaler's own insults.
And, writing without articles is boringly easy--I didn't have to do anything I wouldn't have done anyway in writing this update.]
Consensus at Language Log seems to be that writing without verbs is a priori ridiculous. Hmph. Philistines. Writing under apparently silly constraints can lead to new unthought-of fascinating patterns, as in Perec and other Oulipo writers. People should ignore ridiculous anti-verb polemics, but keep open minds about books they haven't read. (Though misogyny and prejudice are bad.)
Posted by Matt Weiner at May 13, 2004 05:49 PM