Southern author/book seeks endorsement

[Gerald Cohen]

    I have received the following response to my request earlier today
for information about Damon Bonds' book on Southern
words/expressions. I thank him for the reply and now share it with
ADS-L:

---Gerald Cohen
                        ****
>From: NOMAD9572 at aol.com
>Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 17:35:55 EDT
>Subject: Re: Southern author/book seeks endorsement
>To: gcohen at umr.edu
>
>Certainly, Mr. Cohen. I'd be happy to clarify.
>     The nature of my contribution to the work is full authorship; however,
>the book was compiled by word of mouth, researched by polling Southerners
>from across the Southern states. I myself spent most of my life in Houston,
>Texas. I have friends and relatives across the South with 100's of years of
>combined common knowledge on the subject. I did not attempt to write a
>textbook, nor did I attempt to write a comic book. There are already
>"heritage" dictionaries and a few short, comical, "spoof" dictionaries, but
>my book is different in it's practicality. It is not "silly". It is a large
>collection of colorful Southern words and expressions that are commonly used
>throughout the South, make up a distinct American dialect, are spoken and
>understood by over 1/3 of the population United States, and worthy of a home
>"reference" book. On the other hand, it is "user-friendly"; any one from 16
>to 60 can understand, enjoy, and relate to the text. As I stated before, this
>book was compiled by personal interview of the people who actually use the
>colloquialisms, and as such, there is no bibliography.
>Here are a few entries in "The Southern Dictionary":
>
>come hell or high water---      I'm  gonna  retire  by  forty
>    one way or another, no           come  hell  or  high  water!
>    matter what
>
>enough to wear the horns            Damn, kid, you talk enough
>    off a billy goat---to irritate       to  wear  the  horns  off  a
>     or annoy excessively            billy  goat!
>
>holler---1) to yell, shout              Quit hollerin'. I hear you
>                                                 loud  and  clear.
>       2) a hollow; a narrow                Ol' man Jefferson lives by
>    valley                                   himself down in the holler.
>
>    3) notify, contact               Holler at me when you get
>                                 done with your chores.
>neutral ground---the                You boys run down to the
>    concrete or grassy                   store  and  fetch  me  some
>    median between the two           flour  and  eggs.  And  be
>    sides of a highway or                careful crossin' the neutral
>    divided road; the area               ground!
>    where trolley cars run
>    such as in New Orleans
>
>rat killin'---chores, duties;       Well, I reckon I ought to get
>    what one was previously      back to my rat killin'.
>    doing
>
>Mr Cohen, I am simply seeking a verbal endorsement for the back cover copy. I
>am looking for noteable people or organizations who might see the worth of
>the book and be willing to write a 1-3 line statement of such worth to the
>Southerner, the study of culture and linguistics, or the average reader. I
>would appreciate any contacts you might link me to. Advance copies of the
>book will be ready by mid June.
>     I thank you for your valuable time and consideration.
>Sincerely,
>     Damon Bonds
>Nomad Publishing
>NOMAD9572 at aol.com
>(907)529-1543