F&*# Why Do They Have To Swear!

Sure this post may seem a little too square for some readers but in the words of Huey Lewis and the News, it's hip to be square.  Or is it?  According to most YA authors and some adult authors swearing is an acceptable use of language in literature.  After all it's just a word and words don't have meaning unless a person gives it meaning and power.  Well, duh.  Writers who choose to swear in their works are giving power to those words just by the fact they have chosen it among all the other words they could have used to express a thought, feeling or situation.  Before assuming that someone is old fashioned and prudish because they do not like the usage of vulgar words, consider the following argument.

It wasn't too long ago that the usage of vulgar language was an indication of a person who was not well educated and working in occupations that did not pay well.  Yes, this is the stereotyping of a blue collar worker who barely got out of high school and found a job where co-workers share the same lifestyle, mentality and language.  The colorful metaphors become part of their conversations.   On the YA bookshelves there are plenty of examples of foul mouthed characters. What makes them endearing is not just their words but their actions as well.  Why lower the quality of the character  by cheapening the  language? There are only a few cases that vulgar language works for a character.  Rhett Butler comes to mind but remember he only used the d word once in Gone With the Wind.   Literature is meant to be rich in meaning and beauty.  These words are anything but beautiful.

It could be he case that the authors are trying to shock the reader with a contemporary topic.  In which case they will always defend the language stating that it was called for due to the  highly sensitive topic in the book.  Every YA reader can call to mind at least one book about drugs, suicide or homosexuality that swearing was not only used by the character but used often.  It's as if the author is saying,  "It's really true that  people who are oriented to the homosexual lifestyle or drugs   swear constantly."  Really? Then when did it become totally natural for vampires to swear as well?   Funny,  Stoker didn't use offensive language when writing Dracula and the characters probably  could have said a few choice words considering the situations that they faced.

Just as good comedians don't need to swear to be funny.  Good authors don't need to fill the pages with swear words to be good at their crafts.  Storytelling is much more than stringing words together.  It's actually weaving words, emotions and imagery together creating the perfect story.  The argument that  if words are carefully chosen, and no other words fits, then swearing is acceptable, is pure nonsense.  It's a lazy writer's cop way of wriggling out of hard work.  All creative work deserve nothing less than sweat, blood and tears.

Some argue that parents may object to vulgar language in books because they are afraid to admit that they are not ready for their children to grow up.  This is might be true but frankly that thought is ignoring one other explanation.  Simply stated, perhaps parents expect more from their children in the way of behavior and common courtesy.  In a polite conversation,  vulgar words are not used because the person speaking wishes to convey that they are educated and cultured.  This is also showing respect to the listener.  In the writer's case by not using to swear they are indicating that they respect the fact that the  reader may not appreciate being peppered with choice words.



Call it a longing for the good ol' days when Laura Ingles Wilder could face a harsh winter as a newlywed out on the midwestern plains and never utter a word that was distasteful and discouraging  Simply stated, this is what vulgar words are,  distasteful and discouraging.  This world is filled with people who are disrespectful of others in words and deeds.  Why hold these people up as heroes for Young Adults to admire?  Instead, put on a pedestal a character who speaks well and spins an unforgettable story.

National Library Week 2014: Lives Change @ Your Library

As we get closer to the end of National Library Week, there needs to be a moment to take stock in the tag line for this year. Lives Change @ Your Library is a powerful statement but is it true? For those who don't rely on libraries for information, early reading programs, recreational reading or computer usage the library may not offer anything for them. It's a Google world and libraries can become tangled in the World Wide Web's lies. The American Library Association came up with the idea to invite patrons to share how their lives have been changed by the library. It makes one wonder what the responses have been. Taking this powerfully charged tag line and combining it with the responses might be an opportunity to open the eyes of the library naysayers. It could make them see what they have been missing.
It has been a rule of thumb that when marketing a product you must first excite your loyal customers first in order to entice others to like what is being offered. After all, its easier to preach to the choir then it is to preach to the nonbelievers. The choir will at least sing your song and sing it louder then you. The nonbelievers would be just as happy to through tomatoes at you. Let's be honest, library advocates prefer sing-a-longs. Who doesn't right? The idea behind the tagline is a good one and should not be tossed away after the celebration of NLW is over. Could libraries expand upon it? Of course but how? With a little creativity and ingenuity. Of course, a few funding dollars would hurt either but that's a topic for another time. (That blog entry would probably be called "how to beg for money".)
Some people need to see things in order to believe it. For this reason alone, it isn't a bad idea to invite residents to a library open house at least twice a year. it is an inexpensive way to promote the library while giving non-library users an excuse to come in. Free food always brings people in the doors and before library directors start to worry about the residents complaining about tax dollars wasted on freebies, there are plenty of avenues to pursue to get local pizza joints to donate the food for free publicity. When the fallen away library users come to the library, listen to what they say about your library. Are they surprised at what they see? Sometimes reintroducing residents to the library is all it takes to gain one more patron and eventually one more advocate.
The library needs to be on the go. Each community has their own celebrations, festivals, and parades. Join the parade, so to speak. Invite library volunteers to help man a booth at a fair or walk alongside library staff in a parade. The advertisement of the library alone is worth it. Not to mention its another way to make a personal contact with those you meet at the event.
Ask the choir who know how your library has changed their lives to promote it everywhere they go. For example, if a loyal patron, who know that without a story time program, their three year old is better prepared to enter preschool because the program helps with concentration, language and social skills, spread the word about the library, that is priceless. Any business that deals with customers daily will agree that word of mouth is powerful. Now take it a little further, wouldn't it be great if these word of mouth testimonies could be caught on tape to post on YouTube, FB and other social media portals? It's not an expensive thing to do, except for staff time.
Libraries do change at the library. Not only for the patrons, but for the librarians too! If there could only be a place for librarians to share their stories about how the patrons who show up at the libraries have touched their lives in ways that can't even be imagined, that would be awesome. That would be most interesting to read, perhaps that can be explored at another time. Lives Change @ the library is powerful. Let's invite the library choir to sing it loudly and proudly for us. It'll be the sweetest tune that has ever be sung.