William Strunk, Jr.

I admit it. I experienced a certain naughty thrill when I saw “Strunk and White,” (as my teachers always called The Elements of Style) belittled and disparaged in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here’s the headline: 50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice. Yikes! And the author is no paltry random blogger. Geoffrey K. Pullum is head of linguistics and English language at the University of Edinburgh. Before you click through and read this surprising critique, I must add a comment. As much as I enjoyed seeing The Elements of Style taken down a peg, the world would be a little darker without the charm and wit of the essays of E.B. White, and I would hate to think of childhood (my own, that of my children, and of all children) without the stalwart companionship of Stuart Little, and the wisdom and tenderness of Charlotte,Wilbur and Fern.