Pity the poor reader

As a longtime writing professor, I know a painful truth: High school and college students find most writing textbooks as appealing as a mouthful of sawdust. And no wonder. These books tend to be turgid, dry and uninspiring. But what if there were a lean, lively and inspiring book - an un-textbook, if you will - that taught the fundamentals of writing well in a playful, irreverent voice that spoke to young people? For the past three years, I’ve been writing just such a book, perfecting its method, message and voice in my classes as a university writing professor. Titled “Pity the Poor Reader,” my book now resounds with the hundreds of college and high school students I teach every year. As one of my best students put it, “Pity” is like the Onion does “Elements of Style,” a pirate’s manifesto on writing well.