UT Law Dean Farnsworth on English and Volokh Conspiracy Guest Blogs (6/22/20; 6/26/20)

Earlier this month, I received an email from Bryan A. Garner, the legal writing guru.  Garner recommends three books by Ward Farnsworth, dean of the University of Texas School of Law, here.  Bryan A. Garner,  An important trilogy (LawProse Lesson #334), here. These are not your normal law books, but rather--as you might suspect from Garner's interest--books on the skills of writing and argument.  (Those interested in the subject of writing might check out Garner's web page here; and some of his books, including The Elements of Legal Style -2nd Edition (Oxford U. Press 2002), here (taking off from the iconic William Strunk JR. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, originally published in 1918 and periodically updated and republished thereafter (see Wikipedia page here)).

The Farnsworth books Garner recommends are:

● Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric (2010).
● Farnsworth’s Classical English Metaphor (2016).
● Farnsworth’s Classical English Style (2020).

Garner says:

       They’re all stylishly published by David Godine, the literary publishing house in Boston. They’re bold and they’re innovative, and they’re brimming with examples. In fact, there are more examples than explanatory text. That’s a hallmark of Farnsworth’s approach. It’s quite a feat. 

          Buy them. Read them. You’ll learn.

In addition to alerting readers of the book, I just found out that Dean Farnsworth will be guest-blogging on The Volokh Conspiracy this week on the most recent book, Classical English Style.  See Eugene Volokh, Dean Ward Farnsworth (U Texas Law) Guest-Blogging About Legal Writing (The Volokh Conspiracy), here.

I will post below links to the installments this week by Dean Farnsworth here rather than doing a separate blog entry on each one.  I look forward to learning and sharing.  (BTW, I have ordered each of the three books but because of other book commitments will likely not get to them until July; I won't announce when I have finished any or all the books; perhaps it will show in my writing.  (But, hard to teach an old dog new tricks.)

The Volokh Conspiracy Farnsworth Postings:

• What Did Lincoln Know About Language That We Don't? (6/22/20) here.  (On modern English as built on Old English and French and how Abraham Lincoln played the best resonances of both influences in constructing his iconic statements.)
• What Did Churchill Know About Language That We Don't? (6/23/20), here. ("Churchill also made great use of the reverse pattern: starting with simple words, then using language more complex to create a feeling of ascension." [Illustrated with the What is Our Policy speech.])
• What Did Holmes Know About Language That We Don't (6/24/20), here. (Holmes as master of contrast, setting up the Latinate word and ending in a burst of shorter more pungent Saxon words.)
• Holmes and the Art of the Skewer (6/25/20), here.  (Holmes again using an examplewhere "The higher and more pompous idea is put in words that came into English from Latin * * * *. The hard truth that follows is put mostly in older and simpler words.")
• Rhetoric, Polarities, and Trump (6/26/20), here. ("[R]hetorical force requires two things, not one. The two things might be plain and fancy words, long and short sentences, high or rich substance and low or simple style (or vice versa), the concrete and the abstract, the formal and the informal, or other pairs. If you want your writing to cook, learn how to play with those polarities.")

Readers may also be interested in another Garner article, How to regain the joy of reading (ABA Journal 11/1/14), here.  Excerpts, including one involving Dean Farnsworth:

At a law firm retreat, a partner approached me during a break. She had a problem she hoped I could solve: "I can't read anymore. I've lost the ability. I used to read great literature—all the time—but now I can't. Ever since I went to law school, I find myself scouring whatever I'm reading to find what's most relevant. I skim for the main point—as if for a holding. But in literature, it's not there." 

"No, it isn't. You say you once read literature voraciously?" 

"Yes. Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Dickens. Woolf. Hardy. I tried the other day to read Jane Austen, but I just couldn't do it. Can you help?" 

I doubted that I could. Yet I recognized the syndrome she was talking about—in myself. Sometimes I'll start reading The New Yorker as if it were a typical law report. I have to consciously remind myself to slow down and read every word. Relish the language. Don't rush. Pay attention not just to what's being said but also to how it's being said.
Once I make that mental adjustment, reading becomes pleasurable again—not merely utilitarian. 

* * * * 

Judge Gordon J. Quist of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has a possible first step toward solving my questioner's problem: "I suggest listening to books for a while. That way, every word is heard and the great sentences and phrases can be savored." 

This advice can be taken one step further: reading aloud. That's what Ward Farnsworth suggests. He's an expert on rhetoric and dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. "Good advice is done by ear," Farnsworth says, "so I tell my students to do their reading the same way. You still take in all the meaning when this goes right, but you also notice the rhythms and other sounds of the language. And when you write, and when you read your own writing to yourself, you will have a better sense of what sounds good." 

Farnsworth adds: "This is unlike the style of reading that most lawyers do when they search for the holding of a case. Then they are looking, not listening."