Recently I asked, as I do, for short bios from our writers, except in one case I mistakenly said “2 to 3 words” instead of my usual “2 to 3 sentences.”
Recently I asked, as I do, for short bios from our writers, except in one case I mistakenly said “2 to 3 words” instead of my usual “2 to 3 sentences.” This caused the poor writer some anguish as she took me at my word and tried to comply with this new direction. Eventually it got sorted out, but it did get me to thinking about how one might write a super-concise bio of 3 words/
The most one could do, I suppose, is to use words that somehow capture an essential quality of the writer – ideally something that fits the notion of “all you need to know about this person.”
So, I tried this on for myself and came up with a few possibilities:
- not dead yet
- misunderstood as usual
- perceptive in hindsight
- annoying but harmless
- married Gwyneth, wisely
I then asked some friends and recent contributors to try their hand at this new game, and here are their responses (bracketed ones after names are assigned by the editor):
Ben D’Andrea (fixated on apocalypse):
- understood once, possibly
- convinced for now
- I don’t follow
- never got it
Dale Beyerstein (opposes wacky beliefs):
- not sure yet
- what’s that again?
Trudy Govier (crushes resilient ideologies):
- a garrulous philosopher [ed: not so garrulous]
- pusher of peace
- insists on clarity
Janet Keeping (skewers bad ideas):
she remains hopeful-ish
Carol Matthews (doesn’t get it):
- 3 words? I don’t see that in the magazine. Each of the ones I saw were several words and 4 lines. I’m not getting it.
Joan Givner (writer, thinker, wine-drinker):
- bewitched, bothered, bewildered
James Alcock (a sceptical man):
- open book, unindexed
- lacking in credulity
- not unreasonably reasonable
A word of caution to Dr. Alcock. G. B. Shaw wrote, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Are you against progress, Dr. Alcock?
Ian Johnston (a habitual complainer):
- undomesticated, Aristophanic, smellfungus. [Ed. Note: Yes it’s a word. And a suitable one too.]
