General & Miscellaneous Philosophy, Education - Social & Political Aspects, Major Branches of Philosophical Study

The Gift of Fire

Name: The Gift of Fire
Author: Richard Mitchell
ISBN: 9781888173949

by Richard Mitchell

Write a review

Overview

Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at New Jersey's Glassboro State College, set out on a quixotic pursuit: the rescue of the English language and the minds of those attached to the world by it. Donning cape and mask as "The Underground Grammarian," Mitchell sallied forth upon his newsletter against the nonsense being spoken, written, and, indeed, encouraged by the educational establishment. ("One thing led to another," as he tells it, "a front page piece in The Wall Street Journal, a proÞle in Time, and other such. Before it was over, The Underground Grammarian came to be, in the world of desktop printing, the Þrst publication to have subscribers on every continent except Antarctica.") What began as a vivid catalog of ignorance and inanity in the written work of professional educators and their hapless students soon became an enterprise of most noble moment: an investigation, via mordant wit and Þerce intelligence, of "what we might usefully decide to mean by 'education.'" The results of Mitchell's inquiries are as stimulating today as they were when Þrst articulated. His project remains a telling explication of how, through writing, we discover thought and make knowledge. It is certainly the most drolly entertaining.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Library Journal

Mitchell, author of Less Than Words Can Say (Little, 1979) and editor/publisher of the Undergroud Grammarian, here analyzes the link between thought and moral action. In a series of chatty but superbly written essays, he argues that we must each accept responsibility for the development of our own sense of reason and judgment; we cannot leave it to some organic entity called ``humanity.'' In this, Mitchell follows a path trodden by such luminaries as Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, and Sartre. This is the way philosophy should be written: witty, substantial, and engaging. By all means read the title essay, with its send-up of intelligence tests. Highly recommended. Terry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada

Library Journal

Released in 1987, 1981, 1984, and 1979, respectively, these are essays and diatribes written and self-published by Mitchell, a professor who donned the persona of "the underground grammarian" to carp about the state of education, the use of language, and whatever else he wanted to crab about. This group is a collection of those thoughts. More for the academic crowd. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.