The Well-Spoken Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by Tom Heehler (Sourcebooks
2011), is an American style guide
and speaking aid. The Chicago Tribune
calls The Well-Spoken Thesaurus "a celebration of the spoken word." The book has also been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press
, and by bloggers at the Fayetteville Observer
, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
.
section. However, what distinguishes this thesaurus from all conventional thesauri is the inclusion of what the author calls rhetorically related words, or powernyms -- as opposed to merely synonymous words. According to Heehler, these powernyms allow users to more readily transform rough drafts into more eloquent improvements.
In "Rhetorical Form and Design," Heehler serves up 17 lessons from such writers and speakers as T.S. Eliot, Margaret Atwood
, John Steinbeck
, Ernest Hemingway
, Barack Obama
, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cintra Wilson
. Rhetorical and literary techniques covered include the objective correlative
, rhetorical objectification, verb displacement
, rhetorical agency, rhetorical tension, poetic articles, preposition exchange, creative number, and intuitive description.
, where he came to realize just how poorly spoken he truly was. And because there were no books available with which to solve his problem, he began to create a database of eloquent words. Whenever he would chance upon a well-spoken word or phrase at Harvard, he would pair that with what he would have said. After three years of doing this, of "collecting words like butterflies," he decided that his "butterfly collection" could be of use to others.
Sourcebooks
Sourcebooks is a book publisher located in Naperville, IL, in the western suburbs of Chicago. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products in most consumer categories, including college guides, memoir, children's books, young adult, fiction, romance fiction, and reference books...
2011), is an American style guide
Style guide
A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field...
and speaking aid. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
calls The Well-Spoken Thesaurus "a celebration of the spoken word." The book has also been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
, and by bloggers at the Fayetteville Observer
Fayetteville Observer
The Fayetteville Observer is a daily newspaper published in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It has been locally owned by the same family for over 80 years, and claims to be the largest independent newspaper in the state....
, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
.
Content
The book consists of two sections -- a 50-page style guide entitled "Rhetorical Form and Design", and a 350-page thesaurusThesaurus
A thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning , in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations...
section. However, what distinguishes this thesaurus from all conventional thesauri is the inclusion of what the author calls rhetorically related words, or powernyms -- as opposed to merely synonymous words. According to Heehler, these powernyms allow users to more readily transform rough drafts into more eloquent improvements.
In "Rhetorical Form and Design," Heehler serves up 17 lessons from such writers and speakers as T.S. Eliot, Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cintra Wilson
Cintra Wilson
Cintra Wilson is an American writer, performer and cultural critic. Declared as "the Dorothy Parker of the cyber age", she is best known for her commentary on popular culture which is often humorous and irreverent in tone. She currently contributes to the New York Times for its "" series and is...
. Rhetorical and literary techniques covered include the objective correlative
Objective correlative
An objective correlative is a literary term referring to a symbolic article used to provide explicit, rather than implicit, access to such traditionally inexplicable concepts as emotion or colour.- Origin of terminology :Popularized by T. S...
, rhetorical objectification, verb displacement
Verb displacement
Verb displacement as it relates to prose, is a technique used to impart a lyrical or poetic feel to a phrase, sentence, or paragraph. This technique finds particular expression in minimalist literature....
, rhetorical agency, rhetorical tension, poetic articles, preposition exchange, creative number, and intuitive description.
Origins
According to Heehler, the idea for The Well-Spoken Thesaurus came to him while attending the Harvard Extension SchoolHarvard Extension School
Harvard University Extension School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the thirteen degree-granting schools of Harvard University and is part of the Division of Continuing Education.-Origins:...
, where he came to realize just how poorly spoken he truly was. And because there were no books available with which to solve his problem, he began to create a database of eloquent words. Whenever he would chance upon a well-spoken word or phrase at Harvard, he would pair that with what he would have said. After three years of doing this, of "collecting words like butterflies," he decided that his "butterfly collection" could be of use to others.