No, that's not a typo. An acquaintance self-published a book. Without formal editing. Five years ago. About women's lives, which is beside the point for this post. Very few men I have read and indeed have known intimately, know very little about women's lives and heartbreakingly to me, don't want to know. But that's another post entirely.
Unfortunately he wrote about the month of Septemberember frequently as he was a schoolteacher (I know) for many years. He also performed insane things to other words, particularly place names which made the stumbling reading of it a headache but generated guilty laughter amongst us wannabe literatis as the writer is extraordinarily pompous and self-important.
To get back to Septemberember, even now as I type it, spell check alerts me a "WTF is this word, numbskull?"
It has become the family name for this most poignant of months, the end of summer, the colours of fall, beginnings for so many students, evaluation of the sweaters in the closet, maybe gloves and caps and where are my good socks and a precis of the summer on everyone's lips, too sunny, too smoky, need rain for the crops.
Septemberember makes it linger. Stretches it out. Keeps us tasting it a bit longer, rolling it around our hopes and dreams as we stoke up our winter expectations and look behind us at the fresh memories of vacations and the love of family and friends and adventures.
As to our writer who gifted us with this word? I've never seen a man more distraught when he discovered the multiple errata in his book, especially Septemberember which he counted at 25 times. He clutched his head as he told me this, being very much a drama queen, moaning his reputation (?) was now ruined and what was he going to do.
Speaking of books, I updated my 2018 list on my sidebar, I am so pleased that one of the upsides of moving to a simpler life is the time it gives me for indulging my voracious and sometimes unsatisfied reading addiction. 2018 is a stellar year for good books for me.
I now leave you with the September song from one of my favourite all time singers.
Surprising he missed that elongated spelling 25 times.
ReplyDeleteI saw Ella Fitzgerald sing in 1980 in Switzerland. She was amazing.
Oh so jealous. Though I had to research her thoroughly as she is an acquaintance of my singer protagonist in one of my *unpublished* books.
DeleteAnd PS I think he "normalized"it in his head as he also did it with Donegall the birthplace of one of his ancestors.
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But ... what a great word, which captures the sentiment of the season so accurately.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can identify with his agony over typos and lack of editing. Ah, well, no one has a perfect life.
ReplyDeleteBefore he published I had emphasised to him how important it was to read the whole book aloud and pay someone to edit it. Alas.
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It is Tom. Inadvertently he gifted us.
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Don't get me started on typos in self-published books, OR poor proofreading in professionally published books! It's an epidemic, I swear. Makes me crazy. Also, professionally published books so poorly edited I wonder if the publisher actually HAD an editor on staff. Lordamighty it's pitiful.
ReplyDeleteI love this time of year. Can use the oven whenever I want. Can walk whenever I want without worrying about getting overheated and faint. No mosquitoes (not that we had any this year, it being so dry out here in our vicinity). A variety of colour all around. Geese and cranes starting to flock up and fly over on their migratory route. The sky is very busy. And the scents ... lovely, lovely, lovely. -Kate
I agree on the editing Kate, it is pitiful. Newspapers equally awful. I find it enormously distracting as a reader. And as an amateur editor even after 10 passes on a book there is always something newly "eek" on an 11th pass.
DeleteAh Fall, love your descriptions. I'm off to magical Fogo Island and all points north-east on Wednesday morning.
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I wrote an article about editing/proofreading never being perfect, no matter how many times you go over a piece. You can always find something to "fix," mind you, even if that thing isn't technically "wrong." The article's titled "No Perfection Unless You're a Sunset" and is online somewhere (maybe I even posted it on my blog). I think it's going to be published on an editors' web magazine this month. -Kate
DeleteSeptember here is the end of monsoon and brings in festivals. It is the short season before the winter and so we have lot of sunshine after months of overcast days. It is far more cheerful than it is in the Northern hemisphere. It is not as melancholic as it is there.
ReplyDeleteI love that Septmberember. Will try to use it in other communications. Thanks.
It sounds delightful Ramana. Praise for the end of rain.
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I enjoyed reading about the double 'ember' writer...lol! In Oklahoma we won't be experiencing much coolness until the 'embers' of September are well-past and October cools us down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely rendition by Ella - always a treat!
At this time of year I enjoy listening to "The Summer Knows" - the last verse especially...
"...And if you've learned your lesson well
There's little more for her to tell
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall"
"Time to dress for fall" - i love that thought! :)
That's a lot of word however it came about. Here in Southern California we'll likely have some more summer days before fall begins -- not as colorful as I fondly recall from Midwestern days and a drive up the East Coast but that didn't occur until we were closer to October.
ReplyDeleteI gather from Wikipedia that in the Episcopal church there are such things as September Ember Days which are observed on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after Holy Cross Day, September 14. So it's a typo but not entirely a meaningless one. :-)
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