Jacob Szymanski

He wanted to control the rhythm of his readers to harness the power of deliberate varying pace for the medium of print.

Well, I say the medium of print, but interestingly enough, he didn't seem to see too much of a difference between the mediums of print and that of oral communication.

Here's a quote from Frank Herbert from that 1969 interview.

I work orally because I think that language was spoken long before it was spoken.

written.

And I think that unconsciously, we still accept it as an oral transmission.

So he's saying that he believes that even when reading a print book, that information is still ultimately being handled as if it was orally transmitted.

As a blind guy, I can't really speak with much authority on the experience and mechanics of reading print.

But the idea that all print communication is, in the end, oral communication feels right, doesn't it?

Because humans have been communicating orally way before they've been communicating via writing.

Oral communication is much, much more instinctive for us.

We just haven't had the time to evolve, to internalize writing as a premium method of communication for us, right?

Anyways, I thought it was really cool that a mid-20th century author like Frank Herbert, way before the popularization of audiobooks, recognized the importance of pace and the value of his writing sounding good when spoken out loud.

That said, pace is only one aspect of what can contribute to quality writing.

Today, Red Sail are going to attempt to define quality prose.

This is Audiobook Cafe.

I'm Jacob Szymanski.

Red Sail is the host of My Life in Books on AMI-audio.

He comes on the show once every two weeks.

Red, welcome back.