The most commonly used letter in English is letter E. It is followed by the letter T, while third place is shared by the letters A, I, N, O and S. This means that when you write or say an English word, it is more likely to contain the letter E than any other. This also means that if you tried to make sentences without the letter E in them, you would find it even more difficult.
But can you imagine a book in which a particular letter, in this case the letter E, is not used at all? One such book was published in 1939.
"Gadsby, written by Ernest Vincent Wright, is 50,000 words long and does not contain the letter E. The form that the author, who deliberately omitted the use of this letter, actually created and is called a "lipogram".
As I felt the need to squeeze in some interesting information, I will write here and return to the subject: If, contrary to the use of a certain letter (lipogram), there is a use of a certain letter in every word, this is called "reverse lipogram". Writing with such rules (and many other styles I have not mentioned here) has a broader name: constrained writing. On the other hand, while the lipogram is a literary form, its non-literary form can also be found in music, and this can be done by omitting a particular note. This is also called a "chromatic lipogram".
Let's get back to the point. Wright's original intention was not to use the "-ed" suffix, but then it took the form it did. Surprisingly, when the book came out, it did not cause a stir. Because it was a bit unusual, publishers at the time may not have thought it appropriate to devote time to it. But in time it became a book that was followed and collected by collectors.
According to a blog post written in 2007, it took five and a half months to write. Wright even covered the letter E on his typewriter so that he could not press it, trying to take precautions against a possible mistake. There were four E's that he overlooked in the checks he made before the final version of the text. He wrote the word "the" three times and used "officers" once. It was then edited and published in its final form.
Of course, Wright was not the only one to use the lipogram form. The French writer Georges Perec was among those who refused to use the letter E in his 300-page work "La Disparition" (translated into English as "A Void"). In this work, written 30 years after the previous example, Perec paid his respects to Gadsby and Wright with references.
There are a couple of other incredible things about this book. First, he wrote another work called Les Revenentes (translated into English as "The Exeter Text") with the aforementioned reverse lipogram (a form of reverse restriction). In this work, he took care to use the letter E in every word.
The other incredible thing is that “La Disparition” has been translated into about 15 languages. The marvellous thing is that in each language the translators have remained faithful to the spirit of the book and have managed to translate the book by not using a certain letter. I wonder which is more difficult? To start such a difficult struggle out of nothing, or to be a collaborator in that struggle by translating into another language and being able to do it in the right way?
The use of such interesting formats sounds great, to be honest. Because then it is no longer just a book, but the fact that it has to fit a certain style, a certain theme, a certain literary principle comes to the fore. It gives me the feeling that they are even more artistic. It is already obvious that the labour is at an extreme level. Wouldn't it be great to make a compilation that only deals with constrained forms of writing?
Comments