I continue to be inspired by Christopher Castellani’s The Art of Perspective: Who Tells the Story, the latest in Charles Baxter and Graywolf Press’s terrific Art of series.
To that end, I commence a new blog series, on perspective and voice.
This weekend at a yard sale to benefit a local animal shelter, I purchased a copy of Thesaurus of Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget, M.D., F.R.S. Enlarged by John Lewis Roget, M.A., New Edition Revised and Enlarged by Samuel Romily Roget, M.A. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, the edition is copyright 1941, 1947. The opening pages contain sections titled WHAT ROGET CAN DO FOR YOU, FOREWORD TO THE AUTHORIZED AMERICAN EDITION, PREFACE, PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION (1852), and EDITOR’S PREFACE (1879) (Slightly Abridged).
Next there are pages delineating the manner in which the thesaurus itself is organized: six CLASSES, each with a number of intriguing subheadings. The PLAN OF CLASSIFICATION is followed by TABULAR SYNOPSIS OF CATEGORIES.
Finally, there are the words themselves, further arranged into synonyms and antonyms, two side by side columns per page.
This weekend at a yard sale to benefit a local animal shelter, I purchased a copy of Thesaurus of Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget, M.D., F.R.S. Enlarged by John Lewis Roget, M.A., New Edition Revised and Enlarged by Samuel Romily Roget, M.A. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, the edition is copyright 1941, 1947. The opening pages contain sections titled WHAT ROGET CAN DO FOR YOU, FOREWORD TO THE AUTHORIZED AMERICAN EDITION, PREFACE, PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION (1852), and EDITOR’S PREFACE (1879) (Slightly Abridged).
Next there are pages delineating the manner in which the thesaurus itself is organized: six CLASSES, each with a number of intriguing subheadings. The PLAN OF CLASSIFICATION is followed by TABULAR SYNOPSIS OF CATEGORIES.
Finally, there are the words themselves, further arranged into synonyms and antonyms, two side by side columns per page.
My plan is to take the two top words from each section as my guide for choosing from among the photos I’ve taken -- material for what promises to be a juicy, thought-provoking project. My goal is to address the problem of opposites in terms of Castellani’s exploration of perspective and who tells the story. I also hope the political implications -- who speaks, who is being heard -- will become, if not clearer, at least more approachable.
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