Raging Debate Continues
Dear Editor,
Concerning the commentary of 21 Dec from Miss Nell Clipper on the word "crispy": I don't cotton to being brow beaten by #*!!@#&-Yankee linguistic Nazis, so I took two seconds (out of my Pauly Shore movie marathon mind you) to research the world "crispy." From the accounts of the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus ("The World's Most Trusted Dictionary) of Oxford University Press (England), I found under the heading "crisp": adj. brittle, CRISPY, crunchy, friable...so if it's a "crispy-less" new world order your after, Miss Clipper, why don't you and Fuehrer Webster try the other side of the Mason-Dixon. God bless Dixie and Krispy Kreme!
Wesley Walker
via email
The author crisply responds
In response to Nell Clipper's vicious, unwarranted, and uninformed attack on my use of the word "crispy" in a recent letter, I simply quote Oxford English Dictionary (Was that too much work for your interns? It's available online): 1. Curly, wavy; undulated; = CRISP a. 1 and 2. 1398 TREVISA Barth. de P.R. V. xv. (1495) 121 By grete heete the heer of the berd and of the heed ben cryspy and curlyd. 1594 KYD Cornelio IV. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 229 Turn not thy crispy tides like silver curl, Back to thy grass-green banks to welcome us. 1678 JORDAN Triumphs Lond., A fair bright crispy curl'd flaxen hair. 1819 H. BUSK Banquet III. 502 The Arctic frost That chains the crispy wave on Zemla's coast. 1870 MORRIS Earthly Par. I. I. 381 Ye shall behold I doubt not soon, his crispy hair of gold. 2. a. Brittle or 'short'; = CRISP a. 5. 1611 COTGR., Bressaudes, the crispie mammocks that remaine of tried hogs grese. c1720 W. GIBSON Farriers Dispens. xv. (1734) 280 Boil..till..the Worms are grown crispy. 1871 NICHOLS Fireside Science 92 A black, crispy mass of charcoal. b. crispy noodles, crisp fried noodles served with Chinese food. 1940 A. L. SIMON Concise Encycl. Gastronomy II. 55/2 'Crispy Noodles'... Roll this dough out very thinly and cut into strips as thin as spaghetti... Throw into boiling oil or frying fat, frying a delicate brown. 1961 B. W. ALDISS Primal Urge ii. 41 They ate their chow mein, sweet and sour pork and crispy noodles. 1969 Guardian 27 Dec. 13/3 He took..[a] job..as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant..fetching and carrying No. 31 with crispy noodles and No. 13 with soft. 3. Pleasantly sharp, brisk; = CRISP a. 5b. 1841 Fraser's Mag. XXIII. 314 The crispy coolness of fair Eve.
Other dictionaries consulted had similar entries, but I assume the OED has sufficient credibility.
I suggest that Ms. Clipper find another windmill to assault; and that in the future, if she wishes to state what a word "would imply", she consult a suitable reference. Obsession with "political and grammatical correctness" is frightening enough when it's actually correct.
Matt Simpson
via email
Last crispy word
Obviously, your writer neglected to complete his research ("Whose nuts? Doughnuts"). Primo tasties are also made at Mike's Donuts in Georgetown. My only complaint is they've stopped making the honey-wheat delights, but their sour-cream donuts are also fine!
Dan Adkins
Georgetown
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This Year's Models
One of the greatest things about this job (well...after the doughnuts) is the people we get to meet over the course of a year. Artists, writers, activists, public servants, politicians, agitators-getting to know them is all in a day's work. Sometimes it's an honor and a privilege... sometimes it's frustrating or even repugnant. Depends on the story we're telling.
In our annual edition of "This Year's Models" however, we take time out to celebrate the former - the people who've impressed and inspired us over the past year.
Topping this year's list is author/teacher/community advocate, Crystal Wilkinson. And at first blush (to the untrained eye), it might appear as if maybe we suffer from a lack of imagination, or enjoy repeating ourselves. Wasn't last year's model - Frank X Walker - another writer? And another "Affrilachian writer" at that? Well, yes (he also contributes a Southern Voices essay to this issue, by way of updating the readers on the year that followed his "Model Citizen" award). And as we say around here, we're proud to claim 'im. Certainly, covering the progress of the Affrilachian movement (which will celebrate a ten-year anniversary in fall 2001) has been a pleasure for Ace, as that august group weaves together so many of the things we consider integral to this paper's mission.
Wilkinson, however, was selected as "this year's model" for an entirely different set of merits and contributions.
Yes, she's had a successful year as an author (with the release of Blackberries, Blackberries), but frankly, you can't swing a dead cat in this town without hitting a successful author. It's a nice distinction, but it doesn't necessarily make one a "model."
More than that, we were interested in what prompted author Gurney Norman to call her the "godmother of creative writing in Lexington."
One only has to meet her, or attend one of her workshops, or talk to one of her students, to know how right he is.
In an election year where everyone has touted the virtues of "education" in the abstract, it's refreshing to meet someone who walks that talk everyday.
Wilkinson, through her work at the Carnegie Center and the Governor's School for the Arts and a host of other activities, is helping to shape a future community of scholars, writers, artists, and thinkers.
Not only has she been successful in her field, she's gone on to help others find their voice - when she could've just stopped and enjoyed the spotlight.
That's part of what makes her special. And that commitment to reaching out is an integral part of what defines her, along with the other "models" we've highlighted in this issue.
We wish we had the space to celebrate everyone who's done something spectacular to make this city special and unique this year.
Instead, we'll just say Thanks. And we look forward to seeing more of you in 2001.