BOOK REVIEW
A Life-long Love Affair with Writing and Words
Bryan Garner’s Essays Make for a Fine Reading Experience
Reviewed by Michael Kiey, Esq.
One of the legal notices inside this book caught my attention. Bryan Garner and the American Bar Association, the pub- lisher, have different approaches to mak- ing it clear who owns the content of this book. The ABA made its disclaimer in three sentences of 104 words. Attorney Garner wanted the statement to read: “The es- says in this volume represent the author’s views, not those of the American Bar As- sociation.” This contrast shows Garner’s approach to legal writing and writing in general: be direct, simple, lucid, and brief; write in plain English, avoid legalese; and serve the reader. There is certainly nothing brief about this book. It is a collection of 111 essays, speeches, and other writings by Garner since 1988 organized into nineteen chap- ters with a forward by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is not a book that invites be- ing read, one essay after the other, cover to cover. Yet that is what I did; it was a fine reading experience. I asked myself why? I found the writing consistently good
for such a large number of writings over a twenty-year period. There was an ease and flow to the words. Many of the essays are noted as “adapted.” Garner replying to my email said this meant that he “made some changes to the essays—sometimes great and sometimes small.” This, I am sure, had some influence on a writing style that kept me engaged, page after page. But the key to me is that Garner has a life-long love affair with words and lan- guage that he has nurtured. His passion and commitment appears throughout. That acts as a magnet to the reader. Garner’s grandfather, a judge in Tex-
Garner on Language and Writing Bryan A. Garner
American Bar Association Publishing; 2009; 747 pp.; $59.95
as, fostered his intellectual interest in lan- guage. Then, in his first year at the Univer- sity of Texas Law School in 1981, he began writing a dictionary of legal usage that was published in 1987. He founded LawProse, Inc., in 1990 to train lawyers and judges about effective writing and advocacy. He and Justice Antonin Scalia collaborated on a book about the art of persuading judg- es published in 2008. Garner capitalized on whatever genius he inherited.
There is a broad range of topics that inform, teach, and entertain. I’d like to give a few slices of this book to show its range. One of the essays in the chapter on “Learning to Write” suggests a technique for gathering ideas on a topic (the “Mad- man”) but holding off making judgments (the “Judge”) on each idea too early in the process. Garner suggests one way of do- ing this is to use a nonlinear outline that he calls the whirlybird. The name of the topic goes in the center with, say, four branch- es off the center for major ideas and us- ing sub-branches for supporting ideas. Not having experience with it, I tried it for this review and found it helpful to try a new ap- proach.
Another essay deals with the idea that using initial conjunctions such as “but” or “and” to start sentences is bad grammar or poor style. Garner gives examples from Jonathan Swift, Geoffrey Chaucer, Ben Franklin, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Judge Richard Posner, and Theodore White to prove otherwise. He also points out that John F. Kennedy used conjunctions to be- gin fifteen sentences in his short inaugural address. A good index helps you find top- ics such as this one and others as well. Garner finds that litigators are keener on improving their writing skills than trans- actional lawyers. In his seminars on legal drafting, he routinely asks the audience to say what percentage of the legal drafting they see is of high quality? Answer: 5%. And what percentage of legal drafters claim to produce high quality work? Answer: 95%. This was 1998 information. Maybe the gap is not as big today since Garner offers reg- ular CLEs in transactional drafting. There are delightful essays dealing with
errors—many resulting in unintended hu- mor—in grammar and usage. Garner finds examples in the law review writing of al- most any law review you can think of. Yes, Vermont Law School appears. But, no ex- ample from the University of Minnesota. Garner on Language and Writing is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to become more self-aware of the quality of his or her writing, especially those who write to persuade. ____________________ Michael Kiey, Esq., is a member of the bar of Vermont and New York. He is a member of Scribes—The American Society of Legal Writers. He is employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as a supervisor and has trained new employees in effective writing.
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THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SPRING 2012
www.vtbar.org
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