I am writing this letter in response to a statement that was made last week in an opinion article.

It is disturbing that such a distasteful comment could be made about a work of one of America’s greatest children authors – Dr. Seuss. To say that the writing in The Cat in the Hat ‘isn’t very good’ is an insult not only to Dr. Seuss and his legacy, but to the art of writing.

Dr. Seuss’s verse and rhyme scheme, while not always comparable to great writers, is unmatched in his poetic creativity. To claim that The Cat in the Hat lacks depth is a vast injustice to the profound simplicity of the message that Seuss offers his child and adult readers. Sometimes the simple messages are the ones that have the largest impact.

In this case, Dr. Seuss shows us how having fun when all fun seems impossible is an important message that we should take with us our entire lives.

Break the rules and forget the consequences. If you have the time, take five minutes to re-read The Cat in the Hat. The writing is phenomenal and the message that can be taken away is unlike that found in most literature.

The statements made in this week’s opinion article were done ignorantly and without any thought or interpretation of the work of one of the greatest artists of all time.

Aaron Lawrence, ‘15

 

In response to Kevin Dexter’s opinion article, “Grammar,” last week, I would like to proudly proclaim and defend my affinity for precise writing and speech.

Having worked as a writing tutor and copy editor in various capacities for over five years, I see an editor’s role as far more significant than mere eloquence and comma placement.

When I proofread a writer’s work, I seek to bring out their voice while clarifying and defining their argument and vision.

Grammar is an important piece to this process because it relieves the reader from taking pains to understand the author’s work. Instead, the reader is able to fully concentrate on the merits of the argument, itself, without the distraction of inaccurate language, ambiguous punctuation, or unintuitive organization.

Copy editors are indispensable in all variety of media: print journalism, public broadcasting, journal submission, book publishing, and public oration. I value this clarity and believe that too often these finer points of writing are overlooked and underappreciated.

Rebecca Hare, ‘14