Barry Popik

[George Thompson]

A book has just arrived here at Bobst:
Susan Sheehan & Howard Means, The Banana Sculptor, the Purple Lady, and the All-Night Swimmer: Hobbies, Collecting and Other Passionate Pursuits, Simon & Schuster, 2002.  In Part 2: "Thrill of the Chase" there is a chapter (the 8th of the book) "Barry Popik: First Words".

I haven't actually read the sketch yet, brief though it is.  The opening sentence is "Sign on to the list server maintained by the American Dialect Society and you'll be entering a world where what often seem small distinctions -- of usage, roots, provenance, and the like -- matter greatly."  Deny it who dares.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998.