A blogger I've just begun to read, Magic Molly, posted recently about a cookbook from 1927. I was struck by this quote:
The book is written in that kind omnipotent voice that was popular before we became self-obsessed and began to use personal pronouns like commas, around the late sixties (I think).I suspect she's talking about a transition from passive voice to first- or third-person narrative, but I don't think often enough about the technical details of English usage to really be sure.
I enjoy trying to figure out what decade something was written by looking at the font and layout. It never occurred to me until now that perspective could change with the whim of fashion.
I blame the New Journalism. Hunter S Thompson, Tom Wolfe and others. I've never been comfortable with the narrator front and center in those stories.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting item, Jeff. And you made me blush by the reference.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I agree with Ross in Detroit, though I of course understand his point. I suppose I'm agnostic on the issue of the centrality of the narrator, since it can be done wonderfully or terribly. And of course I'm also against it when done badly, but it also can bring alive the material when performed skillfully.
I'll have to pay attention when I find myself reading old examples of nonfiction. I probably read very little of that - fiction doesn't count, for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Scientific journals? I've read my share of early-1900s technical papers.