‘Rebel with a Clause’ explores brings humor, curiosity and intrigue to grammar. | Opinion

Some readers will undoubtedly recall the popular film “Ghostbusters.” Didn’t the theme song go something like this: “Whom you gonna call?” Is that right? Happily, a national magazine recently published a review of a book titled “Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian,” the title supposedly a clever reference to a 1944 classic.

The sudden appearance of this review surprised me, while grammar may have been popular in the age of sentence diagramming, the rise of texting some 20 years ago has pushed it out of the educational limelight. Adults who possessed a cell phone at the arrival of the 21st century were astonished when their kids announced, “Don’t call me, text me!” Do texters worry about correct grammar? Not the ones I know.

Once upon a time, any family that included a college student was about certainly in possession of something called a “handbook,” usually called by the publisher’s name. I still have my Prentice Hall Handbook, purchased when I enrolled in first-year English.

The handbook offered guidance on grammar and usage, plus other matters pertaining to correct writing. While handbooks trend toward the dull, the information contained therein may stimulate the owner to explore further. Most students will discard their handbook as soon as they have submitted their last term paper; many will add it to the bookshelf at home.

An inquisitive few will see it as the doorway to the great beyond and purchase a more sophisticated reference. The most popular of these is “A Dictionary of Modern English Usage,” known by the author’s name, Fowler. But H. W. Fowler was an Englishman, so it is not surprising that in recent years the iconic Fowler has given way to “Garner’s Modern American Usage,” a compendium containing essays and all sorts of fascinating material.

The “Rebel with a Clause” book cited above is the work of Ellen Jovin, who styles herself as the “Roving Grammarian.” Beginning in her own New York neighborhood, she set up a Grammar Table near her apartment building and provoked passersby with topics on her sign: semicolonphobia, for example, Jovin’s idea was so successful that she eventually took it on the road, visiting dozens of different cities.

In her delightful book, Jovin shares her experiences at the table. As someone who has taught writing and English fundamentals (often called remedial English) for over 50 years, I was intrigued by several of Jovin’s discussions. Mostly they are the things that teachers and editors have seen often – for example problems with the use of apostrophes in plural names ending in “s.”

On the Grammar Table are also books about grammar that are mostly owned by people who work with words professionally, for example The Chicago Manual of Style. Jovin’s book, on the other hand, contains much the same information as a basic grammar book, but the author’s conversational personality makes the work a pleasure to read.

Years ago, there were many such books. “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” and “The Well-Tempered Sentence” are two of the most popular. Fortunately, Macon’s Friends of the Library Old Book Sate (April 11-13) is almost here, and some of these books and others may well be there.

Jovin’s love of words reminds me of another lover of language, the famed lexicographer Samuel Johnson. Dr. Johnson, as he was known, is famous for observing that “a generous and elevated mind is distinguished by nothing more than an eminent degree of curiosity.”

That is also an apt description of the delightful folks we’ll meet at the Old Book Sale.

Larry Fennelly can be contacted at larney_f@hotmail.com.