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BRIEF 6 DRAFTING A PAPER,
CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCES
CONTENTS Understanding your audience
Developing a statement of purpose
105
108
1 A PROCESS FOR ACADEMIC COMPOSING Composing a first draft
A rough draft
111
112
What is rhetoric? 3
What is composing? 4 Once you’ve finished a draft . . . 118
A rhetorical process for composing 5 Receiving feedback to a draft 119
Understanding a project assignment 6 Responding to your peers’ writing 120
Composing in different academic genres
Academic composing . . .
8
10 7 REVISING WITH STYLE
Revising a project 124
2 FINDING IDEAS Styling paragraphs 126
A research process 14 Styling sentences 131
Finding a general topic 15 Styling words 138
Narrowing a topic 16 Multimodal style: Visual texts 142
Questions to guide research 18 Multimodal style: Oral presentations 146
Kinds of research 20
Kinds of sources 21 8 DOCUMENTING
Periodical sources 24
Nonperiodical sources 26 MLA DOCUMENTATION 154
Finding sources 28
APA DOCUMENTATION 195
Using your school’s library catalog 29
Which search results best help your research? 30 CSE DOCUMENTATION 222
Starting a paper: One student’s process 32
CMS DOCUMENTATION 227
3 EVALUATING
ETHICALLY
AND TRACKING SOURCES

Evaluating sources for RELEVANCE 36 9 EDITING AND PROOFREADING

YOUR WORK
Evaluating sources for CREDIBILITY 38
Editing and proofreading 234
Evaluating sources for INTEGRITY 42
Making subject-verb agreement 236
Why cite and document sources? Considering
Using verb tenses consistently 240
plagiarism and how to avoid it 46
Using verb tenses in academic writing 242
The four facets of citing and documenting 47
Avoiding shifts in style and voice 244
Collecting citation information 48
Avoiding sentence fragments 246
Keeping track of sources: Starting a working
Avoiding comma splices and fused sentences 250
bibliography 56
Working with pronoun reference and agreement 252
Hints and tips for collecting citation information 58
Avoiding disruptive and dangling modifiers 254
4 ENGAGING
SOURCES
WITH AND ANALYZING Using apostrophes with possessive forms
Using articles conventionally
256
258
Using commas with introductory phrases 260
Engaging with sources 62
What is analysis? About critical reading 74
Analyzing to understand
Analyzing to evaluate
75
82
10 GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION,
AND MECHANICS
Grammar: Parts of speech 264
5 ARRANGING A PROJECT Grammar: Sentences
Punctuation
280
294
Using analysis to develop a thesis statement 87
Using a thesis statement to arrange an academic Mechanics 332
paper 88 Glossary 339
Arranging paragraphs for audience and purpose 90 Index 343
Multimodal arranging: Visual texts 97 Guide to Sample Student Work 353
Multimodal arranging: Oral presentations 101 Revision Checklist Back Cover
The Little DK
Handbook
THIRD EDITION

ANNE FRANCES WYSOCKI

Emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
DENNIS A. LYNCH
Emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

330 Hudson Street, NY NY 10013

 Director of English: Karon Bowers
Executive Producer and Publisher: Aron Keesbury
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Design and compilation © Dorling Kindersley Limited 2012.

The Little DK Handbook was designed and produced by DK Education, a division of Dorling Kindersley
Limited, 80 Strand London WC2R 0RL. DK and the DK logo are registered trademarks of Dorling Kindersley Lim-
ited. Acknowledgments of third-party content appear on page[s] 351–353, which constitute an extension of this
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wysocki, Anne Frances, [1956-] author. | Lynch, Dennis A., [1950-] author.
Title: The little DK handbook / Anne Frances Wysocki, Dennis A. Lynch.
Description: Third edition. | Boston, Mass : Pearson, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017032520| ISBN 9780134775081 (se) |
ISBN 9780134777061 (irc)
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1 17

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PREFACE
WHAT’S NEW IN THE THIRD EDITION
By listening to teacher and student feedback, we delight in continuing to strengthen The Little
DK Handbook. In this third edition, you’ll find such new content as:

1 New sections in Parts 3 and 4 that build on The Little DK Handbook’s established reputation
for outstanding coverage of working with sources.
• Explanations of how
to evaluate sources for
integrity in addition
to relevance and
credibility.
• Expanded strategies
for reading sources:
for example, help
distinguishing between
fact and opinion.
• Discussion of specific
reasons a writer uses sources
in their project: for a
definition or specific
argument, to set up a
problem, to spark one’s
own thinking.

2 New discussion in Part 1

about design and
presentation: planning for
academic projects, including
how to consider design and
presentation from the outset of
an assignment.

3 New coverage of how to

compose multimodal research
projects. Part 5 includes
guidance and models for
arranging visual texts and oral presentation. Part 7 addresses visual style and style
for oral presentations, including sample slides from an oral presentation based on the
student research project featured throughout the 3e.

P R E FAC E
4 New model student documents.
The student documents
in The Little DK Handbook
feature one student’s
research project, from
inception through final
draft. This project is all
new in the 3e, and so the
accompanying student
model documents are also
all new and updated.
The new student texts
include research questions,
working bibliography,
notes on a sample source,
annotated bibliography, sources in dialogue with each other, rhetorical analysis, thesis
statement, statement of purpose, rough draft, revision plan, slide show to accompany an
oral presentation, and a final research paper in MLA and APA formats.

5 Each Part now opens with a list of learning objectives tied to the WPA Outcomes and the
content of each Part.

6 Part 7 features the most current MLA guidelines for documenting sources, as outlined in the
MLA Handbook 8e.

REVEL: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED FOR THE WAY

TODAY’S STUDENTS READ, THINK, AND LEARN.
Revel is an interactive learning environ-
ment that deeply engages students and
prepares them for class. Media and assess-
ment integrated directly within the authors’
narrative lets students read, explore interac-
tive content, and practice in one continuous
learning path. Thanks to the dynamic read-
ing experience in Revel, students come to
class prepared to discuss, apply, and learn
from instructors and from each other.
Learn more about Revel at
www.pearson.com/revel
Turn to the Revel edition of The Little DK
Handbook 3e to see:
• A full APA student research paper, with
extended comments on writing choices
and formatting.
• A complete sample student oral
presentation, with slide show, excerpted
in Part 7 of the print edition.
• Interactive widgets for checking learning
by (for example) dragging and dropping
punctuation into place.

PRE FAC E
 CONTENTS Identifying rhetorical strategies
Analyzing thesis statements
76
78

1 A PROCESS FOR ACADEMIC COMPOSING Using rhetorical analysis to understand

Analyzing to evaluate
80
82
What is rhetoric? 3
What is composing?
A rhetorical process for composing
4
5
5 ARRANGING A PROJECT
Using analysis to develop a thesis statement 87
Understanding a project assignment 6
Using a thesis statement to arrange an academic
Composing in different academic genres 8
paper 88
Academic composing… 10
Arranging paragraphs for audience and purpose 90

2 FINDING IDEAS Unified and coherent paragraphs

Paragraphs that develop
91
94
A research process 14 Multimodal arranging: Visual texts 97
Finding a general topic 15 Multimodal arranging: Oral presentations 101
Narrowing a topic 16
Questions to guide research
Kinds of research
18
20
6 DRAFTING A PROJECT,
CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCES
Kinds of sources 21 Understanding your audience 105
Choosing sources 22 Developing a statement of purpose 108
Periodical sources 24 Composing a first draft 111
Nonperiodical sources 26 A rough draft 112
Finding sources 28 Once you’ve finished a draft . . . 118
Using your school’s library catalog 29 Receiving feedback to a draft 119
Which search results best help your research? 30 Responding to your peers’ writing 120
Starting a paper: One student’s process 32

3 EVALUATING AND TRACKING SOURCES

7 REVISING WITH STYLE
ETHICALLY Revising a project 124
Developing a revision plan 125
Evaluating sources for RELEVANCE 36 Styling paragraphs 126
Evaluating sources for CREDIBILITY 38 Concluding paragraphs 127
Evaluating sources for INTEGRITY 42 Introductory paragraphs 128
Why cite and document sources? Considering Transitions between paragraphs 129
plagiarism and how to avoid it. 46 Passive voice 130
The four facets of citing and documenting 47 Styling sentences 131
Collecting citation information 48 Academic sentences 131
From books 48 Sentences that are easy to read 132
From periodicals 50 Parallelism 133
From webpages 52 Using coordination and subordination 134
From articles you find in a database of journals 54 Using inclusive language 136
Keeping track of sources: Starting a working Styling words 138
bibliography 56 Multimodal style: Visual texts 142
Hints and tips for collecting citation information 58 Multimodal style: Oral presentations 146
Slides to support oral presentations 148
4 ENGAGING WITH AND ANALYZING
SOURCES 8 DOCUMENTING
Engaging with sources 62
Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting 63 MLA DOCUMENTATION
Summarizing and paraphrasing others’ words 64 Guide to MLA Documentation Models 154
Quoting others’ words 66 A Paper in MLA Format 156
Ways to use others’ words and ideas well 68 A Works-Cited Page in MLA Format 164
An annotated bibliography: Summary and response 70 MLA Documentation for In-Text Citations 166
Putting sources in dialogue with each other 72 Variations on the MLA In-Text Citation Pattern 167
What is analysis?: About critical reading 74 MLA Documentation for Works Cited 170
Analyzing to understand 75 “Stand-alone sources” and “Sources in containers” 172
 pattern: MLA Works Cited 174 Avoiding shifts in style and voice 244
pattern: MLA Works Cited for Sources inside containers, Avoiding sentence fragments 246
inside containers 176 Avoiding comma splices and fused sentences 250
What sources need which elements 177 Working with pronoun reference and agreement 252
Figuring out a citation if there isn’t a model 178 Avoiding disruptive and dangling modifiers 254
element 1: Author 179 Using apostrophes with possessive forms 256
element 2: Source Titles 182 Using articles conventionally 258
element 3: Container Titles 182 Using commas with introductory phrases 260
element 4: Other Contributors 186
element 5: Version
element 6: Number
187
188
10 GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION,
AND MECHANICS
element 7: Publisher 189 Grammar: Parts of Speech 264
element 8: Publication Date 190 Nouns 265
element 9: Location 192 Pronouns 266
Citing sources when your project isn’t a research paper 194 Adjectives 268
APA DOCUMENTATION Articles 269
Verbs 270
Guide to APA Documentation Models 195 Main verbs and helping verbs 272
Pages from a Paper in APA Format 196 Adverbs 273
A Reference List Page in APA Format 200 Prepositions 274
APA Documentation for In-text Citations 201 Conjunctions 276
Variations on the APA Pattern for In-text Citations 202 Grammar: Sentences 280
APA Documentation for Reference List Entries 204 Sentence functions and patterns 281
pattern: APA References for Periodical Sources 206 Simple sentences 282
pattern: APA References for Nonperiodical Sources 208 Subjects and predicates 284
APA References 210 Independent clauses 287
Author’s Name 210 Compound sentences 288
Date of Publication 212 Complex sentences 290
Place of Publication 213 Compound-complex sentences 293
Titles 214 Punctuation 294
Additional Information 216 Commas 295
Periodical Volume and Issue 217 When not to use commas 310
For Online Texts 218 Colons 312
For Other Kinds of Sources 220 Semicolons 314
CSE DOCUMENTATION Ellipses 315
Guide to CSE Documentation Models 222 Parentheses 316
CSE References: The Patterns 223 Dashes 318
Details of the Patterns 224 Brackets 319
CSE List of References 225 Hyphens 320
In-text Citations 224 Slashes 321
Sample References 225 Quotation marks 322
Apostrophes 328
CMS DOCUMENTATION Periods 329
Guide to CMS Documentation Models 227 Question marks 330
CMS In-text Citations and Footnotes 227 Exclamation points 331
Subsequent Note Entries 227 Mechanics 332
Bibliography 228 Using Italics and underlining 332
CMS Sample References 228 Spelling 333
Capitalizing words 334
9 EDITING AND PROOFREADING
YOUR WORK
Numbers
Abbreviations
335
336
Editing and proofreading 234 Glossary 339
Making subject-verb agreement 236 Index 343
Using verb tenses consistently 240 Guide to Student Sample Work 353
Using verb tenses in academic writing 242 Revision Checklist Back Cover
REVISION CHECKLIST
FOR A RESEARCH PAPER
STYLE AREAS OFTEN NEEDING ATTENTION
YOUR WRITING…
PROOFREAD FOR:
❏ attends to style. 126–141
❏ Wrong words (because of spellchecker) 333
❏ makes use of coordination and
subordination. 134–135 ❏ Missing words 333

❏ makes use of parallelism. 133 ❏ Spelling errors (including homonyms) 333

❏ makes use of all four sentence

patterns: simple, compound, CHECK GRAMMAR FOR:
complex, and compound-complex. 282–293 ❏ Vague pronoun references 252
❏ Lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement 253
ORGANIZATION ❏ Unnecessary shifts in verb tense 240–243
❏ A thesis statement organizes the writing. 88–89
❏ Paragraphs build from one to the CHECK PUNCTUATION FOR:
next, building coherence and using
❏ Unnecessary commas 310–311
transitions. 91–93
❏ Unnecessary or missing capitalization 334
❏ There is a clear purpose guiding the
organization of the writing. 108–110 ❏ Unnecessary or missing apostrophes 328
❏ The conclusion sums up what is in the
writing and offers no new ideas. 127 CHECK SENTENCES FOR:
❏ The introduction engages readers ❏ Missing commas after an introductory
with your topic and focuses readers’ element 260
attention on what matters in the writing. 128 ❏ Missing commas with a nonrestrictive
element 306–309
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: ❏ Missing punctuation in compound
ATTENTION TO THE VALUES sentences 288–289
OF CRITICAL THINKING ❏ Fused sentences and commas splices 250–251
❏ Your research has been thorough:
Research questions have been carefully ❏ Fragments 246–249
generated and answered. 18–19
❏ You offer evidence for any claims. 42–43 CHECK THAT YOU’VE USED THE
APPROPRIATE CONVENTIONS FOR:
❏ After an initial draft, you’ve analyzed
your writing in terms of purpose, ❏ Integrating quotations into your writing 66–69
context, and audience and ethos, ❏ The mechanics of quotation 326–327
pathos, and logos. 82
❏ Documenting your sources Part 8
❏ Any use of others’ words or ideas has
❏ Academic sentence structures 131
been conventionally cited. Part 8
 PART 1
A PROCESS
FOR ACADEMIC
COMPOSING

1
PAGE CONTENTS LEARNING OUTCOMES

3 What is rhetoric? 1.1.1 Define “rhetoric.”

1.1.2 Define how audience, purpose, and context
are understood rhetorically.
1.1.3 Define “strategy” in a rhetorical approach.
1.1.4 Define “genre.”

4 What is composing? 1.2 List and describe the three parts of a general
composing process.

5 A rhetorical process for 1.3 List and explain eight steps in a rhetorical
composing process for composing.

6 Understanding a project 1.4 Describe and explain three questions that

assignment help you understand any assignment for an
academic project.

8 Composing in different 1.5 Describe considerations you need to give

academic genres different genres as you compose.

10 Academic composing . . . 1.6 List six qualities of academic composing.

WHERE ARE WE IN A PROCESS FOR COMPOSING?

Understanding your project
Finding ideas
Engaging with sources
Shaping your project for others
Drafting a project
Getting feedback
Revising
Polishing

2 P A RT 1: A P R O C E S S F O R A C A DE M I C C O M P O SI NG
WHAT IS
RHETORIC?
Rhetoric is a method for understanding how
communication works.
AUDIENCES
Rhetoric begins with the understanding that
writers (and composers of any text) address
audiences. Audiences are not mindlessly
and automatically under a composer’s sway;
instead, audiences come to texts with beliefs,
values, and ideas. Using rhetoric, composers
consider the relationships they can build
with audiences so that audiences will want
to listen and engage with the matters at
hand.
CONTEXT
Where and when do composer and audience
meet? Is it face to face or through an essay?
Late Saturday night or early Monday? How
will recent events influence an audience’s
attitudes? Rhetoricians recognize that
composers need to consider the contexts of
communication because the contexts shape
how audiences respond.
PURPOSE
The earliest rhetoricians realized that com-
posers need purposes: If composers cannot
articulate their purposes in detail, then they
cannot decide how to shape compositions.
(As when one young woman went to court
to appeal a ticket for driving through a red
light: It was only after her appeal was denied
that she realized her purpose was not to tell
the judge how a truck hid the traffic light but
rather how she did not even know there was
a traffic light.)
STRATEGIES
Once composers have a sense of audi-
ence, purpose, and context, they can begin
making the particular decisions—big and
small—that shape a composition. Composers
need to consider how choosing a particular
word, just like choosing how the parts of a
composition are ordered, is likely to affect an
audience’s attitude toward a purpose.
GENRES
Watching a movie, you know what to expect
from an action adventure or a rom-com, a
chick flick or a horror film. Each of those film
categories is a genre. Genres exist across all
media: Whenever a kind of text has existed
long enough that audiences have in mind
how it should look or sound, that text kind is
a genre.
Genres matter rhetorically because
they shape audience expectations and
so help composers decide how to shape
texts for audiences. In this book, we focus
on academic genres like research papers,
podcasts, and documentary videos.
THE RHETORICAL SITUATION
The combination of audience, purpose, and
context make up what rhetoricians call the
rhetorical situation. This term reminds us
that communication is not a simple transfer
of information but rather an interaction
among real, complicated people living
through complex events and cultures.
Even classrooms are rhetorical situations,
where communicating involves people with
different cultural and educational back-
grounds. How do you use the audiences,
purposes, and contexts of classrooms—and
the strategies available to you—to learn to
communicate as you hope?
WH AT I S R H E TO R I C ?
3
WHAT IS
COMPOSING?
Composing a paper, you arrange words
into sentences and then sentences into THINK
paragraphs, hoping that the arrangement What is my purpose?
will engage your readers. Composing a What do I want my text to do? For
poster, you arrange words, photographs, whom?
and colors so that viewers will want to look
What genre will most likely help
and heed the poster’s purposes. Composing
me reach my audience?
a podcast, you arrange voices and other
sounds so that others want to listen. In other For whom am I producing?
words, composing—as we use the word in Do I know enough to produce the
this book—refers to written, visual, oral, and kind of text I want?
multimodal texts you create. How much do I need to learn about
If rhetoric is a method for understanding a new topic?
how communications have effects as
What else have others said about
they move back and forth among people,
this topic? How do I think about
composing focuses our attentions on how
what they said? Where do I stand?
people produce communications.
Some academics research others’ composing
practices. Their research demonstrates that
PRODUCE
Based on all my thinking, I…
effective composers (no matter their media
and genres) have a composing process. The Write.
particulars of the process vary from composer Develop a website.
to composer, but—in general—effective
Shoot and edit video.
composing involves three overarching steps,
as we show to the right. Record and edit sound.
Each of the steps is shaped by questions Produce a poster.
composers consider. Take photographs and arrange
them into a book.

REVISE
How does my audience respond
to my first (and second . . . and
third . . . ) drafts?
What can I change about my text
to make it more effective?

4 P A RT 1: A P R O C E S S F O R A C A DE M I C C O M P O SI NG
A RHETORICAL PROCESS FOR
COMPOSING
Below, we weave the understandings of rhetoric—how purpose, context, and audience shape
communications—into the general composing process. (Although the process looks linear,
composers move back and forth through the steps.)

LOOK IN
THIS PART
OF THIS
BOOK . . . TO LEARN ABOUT THIS STEP IN THE COMPOSING PROCESS

Understanding your You develop a tentative sense of your audience,

1
project context, and purpose.

Based on that tentative sense, you determine

2 Finding ideas
what and where you need to research.

How do the sources you find help you develop

3,4 Engaging with sources
your purpose?

Shaping your project You focus on your audience’s understandings

5
for others and expectations to shape your text.

Given your audience, context, and purpose, what

5 Drafting a project
strategies help you compose most effectively?

Listen to how your audience reads and

5,6 Getting feedback understands a draft: What worked in your
composition, and what didn’t?

In response to feedback, refine your strategies

6 Revising
better to fit your audience, context, and purpose.

Attend to final details to polish your text into a

7,8,9 Polishing
solid, shining, finished composition.

A R HE TO RI C A L P RO C E SS F O R C O M P O SI NG
5
UNDERSTANDING
A PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
The three questions below apply to any assignment for any academic project, no matter
the genre.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
Three levels of purpose shape assignments:
• Your learning purposes: How can you use
the assignment to focus on skills you wish
to build (transitions, research, analysis, or
complex paragraphs)?
• Your rhetorical purpose in writing: For
example, I would like to persuade people to
write to their congressional representatives
about providing more funding for education.
• The teacher’s purposes: Look for state-
ments of what the teacher hopes you
learn; if they are not there, ask.
Look for these terms in an assignment:
summarize: to describe as concisely as pos-
sible the main points of a text
define: to explain a term or concept
inform: to tell others about an issue, with
supporting examples and data
analyze: to break a process or object into its
conceptual parts while showing how the
parts make a whole
persuade: to present your opinions on a
topic using evidence, so that others might
come to agreement with you
6 P A RT 1: A P R O C E S S F O R A C A DE M I C C O M P O SI NG
WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?
Often, you will be told that your audience
is your classmates. Discussing with them
their beliefs, values, opinions, and knowledge
helps you write most effectively because you
will be able to address what matters to them.
Sometimes, a teacher will describe
different audiences: perhaps the local
community, the city council, or some group
of people whose concerns overlap. You will
need to research such audiences.
If an assignment does not specify your
audience, ask your teacher who the audience
is and how you can learn about them.
(And, of course, because a teacher usually
assigns a grade to your work, your teacher
is part of your audience; your teacher’s
concerns are often made explicit in an
assignment, when the assignment’s purpose
is explained.)
➔ See Part 5 of this book for more on shaping your
project for your audience.
WHAT IS THE CONTEXT?
Where and when will your audience
experience your text? How are shared values
or current national and international events
likely to shape audience responses? What
has happened recently in the audience
members’ individual and shared lives that
shapes how they think and feel in general as
well as about your specific topic?
FOR ANY ASSIGNMENT IN ANY GENRE, ALSO ASK YOURSELF…
• What expectations does my audience have about my genre?
For example, what might an audience of your classmates expect about what should be in
an academic paper and how it should look? How does that differ from what they probably
expect about webpages, video, posters, or podcasts?

• What do you need to learn to compose a text in that genre?

Even someone you consider an expert videographer will still describe more she can learn
about video. All experts start projects by figuring out what they need to learn to produce
the most effective text—so ask yourself what you need to learn to do a project well.
Precisely because such learning is boundless, focus on any new project or doable learning…
or ask your teacher to help you focus.

WRITING TO
LEARN
To prepare, reflect
on the assignment
in writing, asking
any questions you
have, as the person
who wrote the page
to the right did.
Such writing helps
you understand
what you know and
don’t know, and so
helps you figure out
your first steps.

U N D E R S TANDI NG A P ROJE C T A SSI GNM E NT

7
COMPOSING IN DIFFERENT
ACADEMIC GENRES
FINDING IDEAS
➔ See Part 2.
RESEARCH In addition to
PAPER print sources, how
might photographs,
charts, and graphs
help you think about
your topic?
WEBSITE In addition to print
sources, what sorts
of photographs and
videos can help you
think about your
topic and offer per-
suasive evidence?
PODCAST As with the other
genres, look broadly
for sources across
a range of media
that can help you
approach your
topic from multiple
perspectives.
Examine video
examples for how
they use transitions
and sounds rhetori-
VIDEO cally, to help you see
DOCUMENTARY how ideas take
shape in video.
8 P A RT 1: A P R O C E S S F O R A C A DE M I C C O M P O SI NG
ENGAGING WITH SHAPING YOUR
SOURCES PROJECT FOR OTHERS
➔ See Parts 3 and 4. ➔ See Part 5.
What sorts of evidence Consider not only what
and examples do your words say but how
audiences expect in you arrange them. For
research papers? example, does it make
sense to present your
writing in sections?
How do the evidence Will readers understand
and examples that how an argument builds
audiences expect in a in the order they see a
website differ from a website’s pages? Will
research paper? they understand how
your color and picture
choices support your
overall purpose?
What counts as How do you introduce
evidence and examples listeners to your
in a podcast? How do topic? Will listeners
you make evidence and understand why you
examples authoritative mix voices and sounds
in a podcast? as you do, in the order
you do?
How can you make Videos present you with
an argument in a so many choices: As you
video? What counts as shape a project, list your
evidence and examples choices (using words
in a video? on screen instead of
audio, for example) and
explain why you made
the choice.
The composing process we describe on page 5 supports composing in any media or genre—so
start any academic assignment by asking the questions on pages 6 and 7, and look to the
parts we name under each step below for general ideas; specific genres do need some specific
considerations, as we sketch below.

DRAFTING A PROJECT GETTING FEEDBACK REVISING POLISHING

➔ See Part 6.
With a research paper, a
draft usually consists of
a whole first pass on the
writing, but could be
a few pages or even an
outline.
➔ See Parts 6 and 7. ➔ See Part 7. ➔ See Parts 8, 9, and 10.
For all genres, let For revising in any Attend to grammar and
reviewers know your genre, be open to mechanics as your last
major concerns so they changing any aspect of step.
can help you learn what your project with which
you need to learn. your audience struggles.

You can draft a working
website, or you can
offer reviewers sketches
of each webpage,
showing all the text and
indicating links and
graphics.
Ask reviewers if they For revising in any Attend to grammar
can track the website’s genre, be open to and mechanics, but
argument and how the changing any aspect of also check that all
colors, illustrations, and your project with which links work, all text
other design decisions your audience struggles. is readable, and all
support the argument. photographs load.

Draft a script for a
podcast, indicating any
background sound or
effects; you can receive
considerable feedback
without committing to
production you won’t
want to undo.
Ask reviewers whether For revising in any Double-check that
they can follow the genre, be open to sound levels are even
argument through the changing any aspect of and loud enough. Make
voices and sound effects your project with which sure audio tracks do not
as well as through the your audience struggles. overrun each other so
way parts are ordered. audiences can’t hear the
distinct voices.

Draft a storyboard for a
video, sketching out the
major screens, transitions,
and any sounds; you
can receive considerable
useful feedback to such
sketches.
Ask reviewers if the For revising in any Can your audience
proposed screens, genre, be open to access the video? If
transitions, and changing any aspect of words appear on screen,
sound support your your project with which are they there long
overall purpose. Can your audience struggles. enough for others to
they suggest other read them?
organizations for your
parts?

CO M P O S I N G I N DI F F E R E NT AC A D E M I C GE NR E S
9
ACADEMIC COMPOSING…
BUILDS KNOWLEDGE.
Through composing academic texts, you add
to our understandings of the world and each
other. You have to take existing arguments
seriously, research and gather evidence
carefully and honestly, give careful and full
acknowledgment to others’ ideas, and make
only those arguments you can support with
credible evidence and careful reasoning.
ENGAGES WITH SOURCES.
Building knowledge requires building on
already existing ideas and understandings.
As you compose academic texts of various
kinds, you must engage with—understand,
question, find your own position in relation
to—others’ ideas.
➔ See Parts 2–4 on working with sources.
HAS AN ELEMENT OF DOUBT.
Academic writers accept that very few
thoughts and ideas apply to everyone,
everywhere, at all times. As a result,
academic writers consider a range of
reasons and opinions and often use phrases
like These facts suggest . . . or Given the
available evidence, it would seem that . . .
IS EXPLICIT AND GETS TO AND STAYS
ON THE POINT.
Academic composers say what their work
is about—and so a paper’s introduction (for
example) also states what the paper is about.
Academic composers define their terms so
that audiences share their understanding. A
writer ought to be able to explain how each
and every sentence helps move a reader to
the conclusion, without digressions.
10 P A RT 1: A P R O C E S S F O R A C A DE M I C C O M P O SI NG
USES LOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
IDEAS AND TRIES TO BE OBJECTIVE
AND UNBIASED.
Logic relates ideas to each other because of
their form. Thesis statements help writers
create such relations among ideas.
➔ Pages 78–79 and 87–89 discuss thesis statements.
Academic texts are rarely personal. Instead,
they emphasize the argument being made and
ideas that benefit wide populations.
IS FORMAL.
Academic composers strive for a thoughtful
tone of voice and rarely tell jokes or use
emotional language or colloquialisms. In
some disciplines, composers use I and their
own experiences as evidence or examples;
exploring examples of a specific discipline’s
texts will help you learn the particulars of
the discipline. (For help with assignments in
disciplines new to you, ask your teacher.)
➔ See pages 131–137 for more on creating a formal
academic tone.
Academic language—written or spoken—
usually uses longer words and sentences,
a broader vocabulary, and more complex
grammar than spoken language. Some of
the more complex grammatical forms that
academic writing uses are
➔ dependent clauses, described on page 249.
➔ complex, compound, and complex-compound
sentences, described on pages 288–293.
 PART 2
FINDING IDEAS

11
PAGE CONTENTS LEARNING OUTCOMES

14 A research process 2.1 Describe the research process presented in this

book.

15 Finding a general topic 2.2.1 Define “topic.”

2.2.2 Describe ways to choose and develop topics.

16 Narrowing a topic 2.3 Describe what constitutes a narrowed topic.

18 Questions to guide research 2.4.1 List the categories of questions you can use to
develop research questions.
2.4.2 Describe approaches for using research
questions to develop research.

20 Kinds of research 2.5 Describe the uses of online, field, and library
research.

21 Kinds of sources 2.6.1 Differentiate between academic and popular

sources.
2.6.2 Differentiate between primary and secondary
sources.

22 Choosing sources 2.7.1 Describe differences among periodical and

nonperiodical sources.

24 Periodical sources 2.7.2 Describe uses for differing kinds of periodical

sources.

26 Nonperiodical sources 2.7.3 Describe uses for differing kinds of

nonperiodical sources.

28 Finding sources 2.8 Describe a two-step process for finding

sources.

12 P A RT 2: F I N D I N G I DE A S
29 Using your school’s library 2.9 List two ways to use a school’s library catalog.
catalog

30 Which search results best 2.10 Describe how to judge the results of a library
help your research? source search to determine which sources are
most likely to help your research.

32 Starting a paper: One SAMPLE STUDENT WORK

student’s process

WHERE ARE WE IN A PROCESS FOR COMPOSING?

Understanding your project
Finding ideas Finding a topic
Engaging with sources Narrowing a topic
Shaping your project for others Developing research questions
Drafting a project Finding sources
Getting feedback
Revising
Polishing

13
A RESEARCH PROCESS
THE PATTERN
FOR EXAMPLE:
GENERAL TOPIC
By doing initial broad research into their area of file sharing
interest, writers learn what aspects of the topic
might be of concern to their audiences.

R E S E A R C H using general and popular sources

NARROWED TOPIC
General topics must be narrowed—toward file sharing and the success of new bands
particular times, places, or actions—to enable
deeper research and more focused writing.

R E S E A R C H using general and popular sources

QUESTIONS TO GUIDE RESEARCH

Developing questions from different perspectives What is file sharing? Who shares files? What
around their narrowed topic helps writers learn kinds of files are shared? Who decides
what focused research they need to undertake. whether file sharing is good or bad? …

R E S E A R C H using academic journals and other specialized sources

THESIS STATEMENT
A thesis statement logically arranges your argument
about the topic and offers reasons for your position
that will be persuasive to your audience.
Musicians who share their music freely online
sell more of their music; therefore, sharing
music helps bands become more successful.
➔ See pages 78–79 and 87–89 for more.

R E S E A R C H using academic journals and other specialized sources

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
A statement of purpose uses a thesis statement and
a writer’s knowledge about an audience and context
to work out the strategies that help the writer reach
the audience.
➔ Because a statement of purpose is usually
several paragraphs long, we cannot show one
here; see pages 108–110 for examples.

R E S E A R C H using academic journals and other specialized sources

FINISHED PROJECT ➔ Pages 156–165 show a finished paper.

14 P A RT 2: F I N D I N G I DE A S
FINDING A
GENERAL TOPIC
DEFINING TOPIC
A topic is a general area of interest. It’s often
just a name or a word or two ideas together:
• computer game violence
• the cost of a college education
• automobiles
• racism
• women’s rights
• sports and advertising
• health and aging
A topic is a place to start but is too broad
for a paper; you have to narrow it by doing
research to shape it for a particular audience
in a particular context.
CHOOSING A TOPIC
In writing classes, you are often asked to
write a research paper on a topic you choose.
If a topic does not come immediately to
mind, try:
• Asking yourself some questions. What
current issues matter to you—or are
affecting a friend or someone in your
family? What current events or issues do
you not understand?
• Talking to others. Ask friends and family
what matters to them now and why.
• Going online. Some library and writing
center websites provide lists of current
topics that are rich with possibilities for
research. Do a Google search for research
topics, checking out .edu websites.
STARTING TO DEVELOP A TOPIC
FURTHER
• Write a little bit on each possible topic.
Use the following questions to help you
explore directions you might take with a
topic.
Audience questions: Why might my audi-
ence care about this topic? What might they
already know about it?
Purpose questions: How does this topic help
address the assignment’s purposes? Will this
topic expand my learning? How can I shape
this topic into a purpose that will interest my
audience?
Context questions: Does this topic seem rich
enough to help me write a paper of the length
specified by the assignment? Does it seem
complex enough for the assignment? What is
happening locally/nationally/internationally
around this topic that might be affecting how
my audience thinks or feels or acts?
➔ See page 3 to review the concepts of audience,
purpose, and context.
• Do a Google search on the topic.
The following questions will help you
determine the strength of your topic and
possible directions you might explore: Does
it look like there’s lots of interest in the topic?
What are people’s different positions on the
topic? Do the webpages you visit suggest other
related topics or other directions for research?
F I ND I NG A GE NE R A L TO P I C
15
NARROWING A TOPIC
Start narrowing a topic by researching it using general and popular research sources—as one
writer, Hayden, does:

TALKING TO OTHERS
Hayden got interested in this topic by seeing so much back
and forth on Facebook and Twitter about what is a fact
or not. She thought she knew what a fact is, but she hears
many different ideas to what counts as a fact and why.

USING A GOOGLE SEARCH

A Google search for fact opinion links to countless work-
sheets for teaching children the difference between the
terms; Hayden also finds more general discussions of why
TOPIC: facts matter in a democracy. The search also helps Hayden
What is a fact? What find other search terms such as why do facts matter and facts
is an opinion? Does democracy. A Google Scholar search for facts democracy also
helps her see that enough scholarly writing exists on her
the difference matter?
topic for her to write a paper for class.
Why do people argue
about these words?
READING NEWSPAPERS
Hayden finds many recent opinion pieces in the New York
Times on this topic, which shows that this topic is vibrant
and relevant.

CHECKING THE REDDIT WEBSITE

Out of curiosity, Hayden searches for fact opinion on Reddit.
She finds several posts—such as “Life Pro Tip: It’s better
to have no opinion on something than an uninformed one”
and “Change My View: There are such things as wrong
opinions”—with extended discussions about the differ-
ences between facts and opinions and why the differences
matter.

After such initial research and reading, Hayden could narrow her topic to:

16 P A RT 2: F I N D I N G I DE A S
 THE PATTERN

NARROWED TOPICS
Narrowed topics usually relate a general topic to specific places, times, actions, or
groups of people.

GENERAL TOPIC NARROWED TOPIC

women in the workforce ➔ the number of women in politics in the United

States during the last 50 years

advertising ➔ advertising and democratic participation in the

United States
water as a resource ➔ water management in the Middle East

the Internet ➔ how corporations shape Internet social

networking sites

poetry ➔ poetry written by people rooted in two cultures

racial profiling ➔ racial profiling and law-enforcement policies

global warming ➔ global warming education in elementary schools

sports ➔ college sports training and men’s body images

religion ➔ the tax-exempt status of churches and their role in

political races

technology ➔ the development of the compass, gunpowder, and

papermaking in China

the civil rights movement ➔ organizational strategies of the civil rights

movement
TIP

USE GOOGLE TO TEST YOUR TOPIC

In two ways, Google can tell you if your topic is narrow enough:
• If Google suggests sources from academic sources and respected organizations
alongside popular sources, your topic is narrow enough to be worth further research.
(➔ Pages 21 and 24–27 can help you determine if the sources are academic.)
• If Google responds with hundreds of millions of possible links leading in many
directions, your topic is not focused enough.

NA R ROWI NG A TO P I C
17
QUESTIONS CATEGORIES OF QUESTIONS TO
GUIDE RESEARCH
TO GUIDE The categories of questions below can help
you invent questions to shape your research;
RESEARCH they can also help you determine which
questions are likely to lead to rich research.

QUESTIONS OF FACT QUESTIONS OF QUESTIONS OF

• What happened?
• Who was involved?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
DEFINITION
• What is the thing or issue
under discussion? What
is it made of?
• What is the expected way
(in the particular context)
of using the thing, word,
title, or expression?
INTERPRETATION
• How do we understand and
make sense of what hap-
pened?
• How are we to incorporate
facts and definitions into a
story that makes sense?

QUESTIONS OF QUESTIONS OF VALUE QUESTIONS OF POLICY

CONSEQUENCE
• What caused what
happened? What
changes—to which
persons, processes, or
objects—led to the
issue at hand?
• What are the effects
of what happened?
Who is affected? What
changes might result
from what happened?
• Is what is at stake good,
useful, worthy of praise, or
worthy of blame?
• What audiences will value
the matter at hand? What
do people say about the
issue?
• Which of our (or our audi-
ence’s) values are called
on as we make judgments
about what happened?
• Given the circumstances,
what should we do?
• Given the circumstances,
what rules or policies
should we make or en-
force?
• Given the circumstances,
what laws should we write
or enforce?

18 P A RT 2: F I N D I N G I DE A S
SAMPLE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Hayden chose the topic of facts and opinions
and narrowed her topic to why facts matter
in a democracy. Using the question catego-
ries, she brainstormed questions like:
QU E S TI O NS TO GU I D E R E SE A RC H
DEVELOPING AND USING RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
Use the categories to generate as many
questions on your narrowed topic as you
can. Doing this can help you see
• areas of research you might not have
considered otherwise
• possible ways for shaping your purposes
• questions your audience might have that
you need to address in your writing
• the specific research directions you need
to take
• whether your opinion on the topic is well
informed
You may not need to address all the ques-
tions you develop, but you won’t know for
sure until you start using them to dig into
sources with focus.
When you use the research questions to
help you generate more questions, just let
the questions come: Don’t judge them, but
let one question lead to another. The more
questions you can generate, the more you
will have a sense of what further research
you need to do.
DEVELOPING SEARCH TERMS
You can type your research questions
directly into Google and other popular search
engines.
For searching within libraries or websites
(such as reddit, YouTube, or Facebook),
search terms or phrases are usually more
useful. For example, Hayden could use her
research questions on the left to generate
the following terms to use for searching:
facts values opinions
facts in a democracy
teaching fact opinion
19
KINDS OF
RESEARCH
With most research projects, you will mix
several of these kinds of research.
ONLINE RESEARCH
Not everything is online—nor does Google
link to all that is online.
• Unspecialized search engines—like Google
and Yahoo!—are useful for the following,
usually early in research:
• developing a sense of popular opinion on
topics
• finding popular sources on topics, in both
popular magazines and in blogs
• finding person-on-the-street quotations
• finding links or references to aca-
demic sources
• Specialized search engines such as The
Internet Public Library 2, Google Scholar,
or INFOMINE provide access to material to
which popular search engines often don’t
have access.
FIELD RESEARCH
Interviews, observations, and surveys are all
forms of research. To carry them out, you
usually have to go out of your classroom
or library to talk with people in the field—
which could be a suburban strip mall, urban
nonprofit organization, other classroom, or
rural farm. Those carrying out field research
work systematically by using prepared in-
terview questions or surveys when they talk
with others.
20 P A RT 2: F I N D I N G I DE A S
LIBRARY RESEARCH
Get to know, in person, a reference librarian
at your school’s library: Talking with a
librarian about a topic can help you find new
approaches. A reference librarian can help
you with both in-library and online uses of
the library’s resources.
In-library resources include the obvious
books, journals, and reference materials but
can also include photographs, audio record-
ings, and other archival materials. Online
library resources can include catalogs of the
library’s holdings and access to newspapers
and journals from across disciplines.
Finally, libraries usually give you access
to interlibrary loans: If your library does not
have a book or journal you need, a librarian
can order it for you from another library.
RESEARCH IN ARCHIVES AND
SPECIAL LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
Physical archives include local history
associations or museums that hold old
manuscripts, photographs, clothing, or other
items. Such archives are usually private or
provide limited access; contact the archive
to learn policies. To find archives close to
you, do an online search using archive or
museum along with the kind of informa-
tion you seek, look in the phone book under
museum, or ask a librarian.
Virtual archives are online collections of
digitized materials such as letters, posters,
photographs, or speeches. Online searches
can help you find these.
Many libraries also have special collec-
tions of paintings and prints, films and video,
and sound recordings—often not digitized.
If you write on a topic that has a historical
dimension or are just curious, such special
collections can be fascinating.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
be going back to the milieu of railroad men, from whom I had drifted
far out of touch. Nor could I go back among radical whites and try to
rekindle the flames of an old enthusiasm. I knew that if I did return I
would have to find a new orientation among the Negro intelligentsia.
One friend in Harlem had written that Negroes were traveling abroad
en masse that spring and summer and that the élite would be
camping in Paris. I thought that it might be less unpleasant to meet
the advance guard of the Negro intelligentsia in Paris. And so, laying
aside my experiment in wearing bags, bournous and tarboosh, I
started out.
First to Tangier, where four big European powers were performing
their experiment of international government in Africa upon a living
corpse. Otherwise Tangier was a rare African-Mediterranean town of
Moors and progressive Sephardic Jews and Europeans, mostly
Spanish.
Through Spanish Morocco I passed and duly noted its points of
interest. The first was Tetuán, which inspired this sonnet:
TETUÁN
Morocco conquering homage paid to Spain
And the Alhambra lifted up its towers!
Africa's fingers tipped with miracles,
And quivering with Arabian designs,
Traced words and figures like exotic flowers,
Sultanas' chambers of rare tapestries,
Filigree marvels from Koranic lines,
Mosaics chanting notes like tropic rain.

And Spain repaid the tribute ages after:

To Tetuán, that fort of struggle and strife,
Where chagrined Andalusian Moors retired,
She brought a fountain bubbling with new life,
Whose jewelled charm won even the native pride,
And filled it sparkling with flamenco laughter.
In all Morocco there is no place as delicious as Tetuán. By a kind of
magic instinct the Spaniards have created a modern town which
stands up like a happy extension of the antique Moroccan. The
ancient walls merge into the new without pain. The Spanish Morisco
buildings give more lightness to the native Moroccan, and the
architectural effect of the whole is a miracle of perfect
miscegenation.
I loved the colored native lanterns, illuminating the archways of
Larache. I liked Ceuta lying like a symbolic hand-clasp across the
Mediterranean. And I adored the quaint tile-roofed houses and cool
watered gardens in the mountain fastness of Xauen. From Gibraltar I
was barred by the British. But that was no trouble to my skin, for ever
since I have been traveling for the sheer enjoyment of traveling I
have avoided British territory. That was why I turned down an
attractive invitation to visit Egypt, when I was living in France.
Once again in Spain, I inspected the great Moorish landmarks. And
more clearly I saw Spain outlined as the antique bridge between
Africa and Europe.

After the strong dazzling colors of Morocco, Paris that spring

appeared something like the melody of larks chanting over a gray
field. It was over three years since I had seen the metropolis. At that
time it had a political and financial trouble hanging heavy round its
neck. Now it was better, with its head up and a lot of money in every
hand. I saw many copies of my book, Banjo, decorating a shop
window in the Avenue de l'Opéra and I was disappointed in myself
that I could not work up to feeling a thrill such as I imagine an author
should feel.
I took a fling at the cabarets in Montparnasse and Montmartre, and I
was very happy to meet again a French West Indian girl whom I
knew as a bonne in Nice when I was a valet. We ate some good
dinners together and saw the excellent French productions of Rose
Marie and Show Boat and danced a little at the Bal Negre and at
Bricktop's Harlem hang-out in Montmartre.
I found Louise Bryant in Paris. It was our first meeting since she took
my manuscript to New York in the summer of 1926. The meeting was
a nerve-tearing ordeal. About two years previously she had written of
a strange illness and of doctors who gave her only six months to live
and of her determination to live a long time longer than that. She had
undergone radical treatment. The last time I had seen her she was
plump and buxom. Now she was shrunken and thin and fragile like a
dried-up reed. Her pretty face had fallen like a mummy's and nothing
was left of her startling attractiveness but her eyebrows.
She embarrassed me by continually saying: "Claude, you won't even
look at me." Her conversation was pitched in a nervous hysterical
key and the burden was "male conceit." I told her that the female
was largely responsible for "male conceit." Often when I had seen
her before she had been encircled by a following of admirably
created young admirers of the collegiate type. Now she was always
with an ugly-mugged woman. This woman was like an apparition of a
male impersonator, who was never off the stage. She had a trick way
of holding her shoulders and her hands like a gangster and
simulating a hard-boiled accent. A witty Frenchman pronounced her
a Sappho-manqué. The phrase sounded like a desecration of the
great glamorous name of Sappho. I wondered why (there being so
many attractive women in the world) Louise Bryant should have
chosen such a companion. And I thought that it was probably
because of the overflow of pity pouring out of her impulsive Irish
heart.
I remembered, "Aftermath," the beautiful poem which she sent us for
publication in The Liberator after John Reed died. Now it seemed of
greater significance:
AFTERMATH
Dear, they are singing your praises,
Now you are gone.
But only I saw your going,
I ... alone ... in the dawn.
 Dear, they are weeping about you,
Now you are dead,
And they've placed a granite stone
Over your darling head.

I cannot cry any more,

Too burning deep is my grief....
I dance through my spendthrift days
Like a fallen leaf.

Faster and faster I whirl

Toward the end of my days.
Dear, I am drunken with sadness
And lost down strange ways.

If only the dance could finish

Like a flash in the sky.... Oh, soon,
If only a storm could come shouting—
Hurl me past stars and moon.
And I thought if I could not look frankly with admiration at Louise
Bryant's face, I could always turn to the permanently lovely poem
which she had created.

I had spruced myself up a bit to meet the colored élite. Observing

that the Madrileños were well-tailored, I had a couple of suits made
in Madrid, and chose a hat there. In Paris I added shoes and shirts
and ties and gloves to my wardrobe.
The cream of Harlem was in Paris. There was the full cast of
Blackbirds (with Adelaide Hall starring in the place of Florence Mills),
just as fascinating a group off the stage as they were extraordinary
on the stage. The Porgy actors had come over from London. There
was an army of school teachers and nurses. There were Negro
Communists going to and returning from Russia. There were Negro
students from London and Scotland and Berlin and the French
universities. There were presidents and professors of the best Negro
colleges. And there were painters and writers and poets, of whom
the most outstanding was Countee Cullen.
I met Professor Alain Locke. He had published The Anthology of the
New Negro in 1925 and he was the animator of the movement as
well as the originator of the phrase "Negro renaissance."
Commenting upon my appearance, Dr. Locke said, "Why, you are
wearing the same kind of gloves as I am!" "Yes," I said, "but my hand
is heavier than yours." Dr. Locke was extremely nice and invited me
to dinner with President Hope of Atlanta University. The dinner was
at one of the most expensive restaurants in the grands boulevards.
President Hope, who was even more Nordic-looking than Walter
White, was very affable and said I did not look like the boxer-type
drawings of me which were reproduced with the reviews of Home to
Harlem. President Hope hoped that I would visit his university when I
returned to America.
There had been an interesting metamorphosis in Dr. Locke. When
we met for the first time in Berlin in 1923, he took me for a
promenade in the Tiergarten. And walking down the row, with the
statues of the Prussian kings supported by the famous philosophers
and poets and composers on either side, he remarked to me that he
thought those statues the finest ideal and expression of the plastic
arts in the world. The remark was amusing, for it was just a short
while before that I had walked through the same row with George
Grosz, who had described the statues as "the sugar-candy art of
Germany." When I showed Dr. Locke George Grosz's book of
drawings, Ecce Homo, he recoiled from their brutal realism. (Dr.
Locke is a Philadelphia blue-black blood, a Rhodes scholar and
graduate of Oxford University, and I have heard him described as the
most refined Negro in America).
So it was interesting now to discover that Dr. Locke had become the
leading Negro authority on African Negro sculpture. I felt that there
was so much more affinity between the art of George Grosz and
African sculpture than between the Tiergarten insipid idealization of
Nordic kings and artists and the transcending realism of the African
artists.
Yet I must admit that although Dr. Locke seemed a perfect symbol of
the Aframerican rococo in his personality as much as in his prose
style, he was doing his utmost to appreciate the new Negro that he
had uncovered. He had brought the best examples of their work
together in a pioneer book. But from the indication of his
appreciations it was evident that he could not lead a Negro
renaissance. His introductory remarks were all so weakly winding
round and round and getting nowhere. Probably this results from a
kink in Dr. Locke's artistic outlook, perhaps due to its effete
European academic quality.
When he published his Anthology of the New Negro, he put in a
number of my poems, including one which was originally entitled
"The White House." My title was symbolic, not meaning specifically
the private homes of white people, but more the vast modern edifice
of American Industry from which Negroes were effectively barred as
a group. I cannot convey here my amazement and chagrin when Dr.
Locke arbitrarily changed the title of my poem to "White Houses" and
printed it in his anthology, without consulting me. I protested against
the act, calling Dr. Locke's attention to the fact that my poem had
been published under the original title of "The White House" in The
Liberator. He replied that he had changed the title for political
reasons, as it might be implied that the title meant the White House
in Washington, and that that could be made an issue against my
returning to America.
I wrote him saying that the idea that my poem had reference to the
official residence of the President of the United States was
ridiculous; and that, whether I was permitted to return to America or
not, I did not want the title changed, and would prefer the omission of
the poem. For his title "White Houses" was misleading. It changed
the whole symbolic intent and meaning of the poem, making it
appear as if the burning ambition of the black malcontent was to
enter white houses in general. I said that there were many white
folks' houses I would not choose to enter, and that, as a fanatical
advocate of personal freedom, I hoped that all human beings would
always have the right to decide whom they wanted to have enter
their houses.
But Dr. Locke high-handedly used his substitute title of "White
Houses" in all the editions of his anthology. I couldn't imagine such a
man as the leader of a renaissance, when his artistic outlook was so
reactionary.
The Negroid élite was not so formidable to meet after all. The
financial success of my novel had helped soften hard feelings in
some quarters. A lovely lady from Harlem expressed the views of
many. Said she: "Why all this nigger-row if a colored writer can
exploit his own people and make money and a name? White writers
have been exploiting us long enough without any credit to our race. It
is silly for the Negro critics to holler to God about Home to Harlem as
if the social life of the characters is anything like that of the
respectable class of Negroes. The people in Home to Harlem are our
low-down Negroes and we respectable Negroes ought to be proud
that we are not like them and be grateful to you for giving us a real
picture of Negroes whose lives we know little about on the inside." I
felt completely vindicated.
My agent in Paris gave a big party for the cast of Blackbirds, to
which the lovely lady and other members of the black élite were
invited. Adelaide Hall was the animating spirit of the Blackbirds. They
gave some exhibition numbers, and we all turned loose and had a
grand gay time together, dancing and drinking champagne. The
French guests (there were some chic ones) said it was the best party
of the season. And in tipsy accents some of the Harlem élite
admonished me against writing a Home-to-Harlem book about them.
Thus I won over most of the Negro intelligentsia in Paris, excepting
the leading journalist and traveler who remained intransigent.
Besides Negro news, the journalist specialized in digging up obscure
and Amazing Facts for the edification of the colored people. In these
"Facts" Beethoven is proved to be a Negro because he was dark
and gloomy; also the Jewish people are proved to have been
originally a Negro people!
The journalist was writing and working his way through Paris. Nancy
Cunard's Negro Anthology describes him as a guide and quoted him
as saying he had observed, in the flesh market of Paris, that white
southerners preferred colored trade, while Negro leaders preferred
white trade. Returning to New York, he gave lectures "for men only"
on the peep-holes in the walls of Paris.
The journalist was a bitter critic of Home to Harlem, declaring it was
obscene. I have often wondered if it is possible to establish a really
intelligent standard to determine obscenity—a standard by which
one could actually measure the obscene act and define the obscene
thought. I have done lots of menial work and have no snobbery
about common labor. I remember that in Marseilles and other places
in Europe I was sometimes approached and offered a considerable
remuneration to act as a guide or procurer or do other sordid things.
While I was working as a model in Paris a handsome Italian model
brought me an offer to work as an occasional attendant in a special
bains de vapeur. The Italian said that he made good extra money
working there. Now, although I needed more money to live, it was
impossible for me to make myself do such things. The French say
"On fait ce que on peut." I could not. The very idea of the thing
turned me dead cold. My individual morale was all I possessed. I felt
that if I sacrificed it to make a little extra money, I would become
personally obscene. I would soon be utterly unable to make that
easy money. I preferred a menial job.
Yet I don't think I would call another man obscene who could do what
I was asked to do without having any personal feeling of revulsion
against it. And if an artistic person had or was familiar with such
sordid experiences of life and could transmute them into literary or
any other art form, I could not imagine that his performance or his
thought was obscene.
The Negro journalist argued violently against me. He insisted that I
had exploited Negroes to please the white reading public. He said
that the white public would not read good Negro books because of
race prejudice; that he himself had written a "good" book which had
not sold. I said that Negro writers, instead of indulging in whining and
self-pity, should aim at reaching the reading public in general or
creating a special Negro public; that Negroes had plenty of money to
spend on books if books were sold to them.
I said I knew the chances for a black writer and a white writer were
not equal, even if both were of the same caliber. The white writer had
certain avenues, social and financial, which opened to carry him
along to success, avenues which were closed to the black.
Nevertheless I believed that the Negro writer also had a chance,
even though a limited one, with the great American reading public. I
thought that if a Negro writer were sincere in creating a plausible
Negro tale—if a Negro character were made credible and human in
his special environment with a little of the virtues and the vices that
are common to the human species—he would obtain some
recognition and appreciation. For Negro writers are not alone in
competing with heavy handicaps. They have allies among some of
the white writers and artists, who are fighting formalism and
classicism, crusading for new forms and ideas against the dead
weight of the old.
But the journalist was loudly positive that it was easy for a Negro
writer to make a sensational success as a writer by "betraying" his
race to the white public. So many of the Negro élite love to mouth
that phrase about "betraying the race"! As if the Negro group had
special secrets which should not be divulged to the other groups. I
said I did not think the Negro could be betrayed by any real work of
art. If the Negro were betrayed in any place it was perhaps in that
Negro press, by which the journalist was syndicated, with its
voracious black appetite for yellow journalism.
Thereupon the journalist declared that he would prove that it was
easy for a Negro to write the "nigger stuff" the whites wanted of him
and make a success of it. He revealed that he was planning a novel
for white consumption; that, indeed, he had already written some of
it. He was aiming at going over to the white market. He was going to
stop writing for Negroes, who gave him so little support, although he
had devoted his life to the betterment of the Negro.
I was eager to see him prove his thesis. For he was expressing the
point of view of the majority of the colored élite, who maintain that
Negroes in the arts can win success by clowning only, because that
is all the whites expect and will accept of them. So although I disliked
his type of mind, I promised to help him, I was so keen about the
result of his experiment. I introduced him to my agent in Paris, and
my agent introduced him to a publisher in New York.
Our Negro journalist is very yellow and looks like a métèque in
France, without attracting undue attention. Yet besides his "Amazing
Facts" about Negroes he has written in important magazines,
stressing the practical nonexistence of color prejudice in Europe and
blaming Negroes for such as exists! Also he wrote in a white
magazine about Africa and the color problem under a nom de plume
which gave no indication of the writer's origin.
He might have thought that as he had "passed white" a little in
complexion and in journalism, it would be just as easy "passing
white" as a creative writer. Well, the Negro journalist deliberately
wrote his novel as a "white" novelist—or as he imagined a white man
would write. But the sensational white novel by a Negro has not yet
found its publisher.
The last time I heard about him, he was again a Negro in Ethiopia,
interviewing Haile Selassie and reporting the white rape of Ethiopia
from an African point of view for the American Negro press.

Nigger Heaven, the Harlem novel of Carl Van Vechten, also was
much discussed. I met some of Mr. Van Vechten's Negro friends,
who were not seeing him any more because of his book. I felt
flattered that they did not mind seeing me! Yet most of them agreed
that Nigger Heaven was broadly based upon the fact of
contemporary high life in Harlem. Some of them said that Harlemites
should thank their stars that Nigger Heaven had soft-pedaled some
of the actually wilder Harlem scenes. While the conventional Negro
moralists gave the book a hostile reception because of its hectic
bohemianism, the leaders of the Negro intelligentsia showed a
marked liking for it. In comparing it with Home to Harlem, James
Weldon Johnson said that I had shown a contempt for the Negro
bourgeoisie. But I could not be contemptuous of a Negro bourgeoisie
which simply does not exist as a class or a group in America.
Because I made the protagonist of my novel a lusty black worker, it
does not follow that I am unsympathetic to a refined or wealthy
Negro.
My attitude toward Nigger Heaven was quite different from that of its
Negro friends and foes. I was more interested in the implications of
the book. It puzzled me a little that the author, who is generally
regarded as a discoverer and sponsor of promising young Negro
writers, gave Lascar, the ruthless Negro prostitute, the victory over
Byron, the young Negro writer, whom he left, when the novel ends, in
the hands of the police, destined perhaps for the death house in Sing
Sing.
Carl Van Vechten also was in Paris in the summer of 1929. I had
been warned by a white non-admirer of Mr. Van Vechten that I would
not like him because he patronized Negroes in a subtle way, to
which the Harlem élite were blind because they were just learning
sophistication! I thought it would be a new experience to meet a
white who was subtly patronizing to a black; the majority of them
were so naïvely crude about it. But I found Mr. Van Vechten not a bit
patronizing, and quite all right. It was neither his fault nor mine if my
reaction was negative.
One of Mr. Van Vechten's Harlem sheiks introduced us after midnight
at the Café de la Paix. Mr. Van Vechten was a heavy drinker at that
time, but I was not drinking liquor. I had recently suffered from a
cerebral trouble and a specialist had warned me against drinking,
even wine. And when a French doctor forbids wine, one ought to
heed. When we met at that late hour at the celebrated rendezvous of
the world's cosmopolites, Mr. Van Vechten was full and funny. He
said, "What will you take?" I took a soft drink and I could feel that Mr.
Van Vechten was shocked.
I am afraid that as a soft drinker I bored him. The white author and
the black author of books about Harlem could not find much of
anything to make conversation. The market trucks were rolling by
loaded with vegetables for Les Halles, and suddenly Mr. Van
Vechten, pointing to a truck-load of huge carrots, exclaimed, "How I
would like to have all of them!" Perhaps carrots were more
interesting than conversation. But I did not feel in any way carroty. I
don't know whether my looks betrayed any disapproval. Really I
hadn't the slightest objection to Mr. Van Vechten's enthusiasm for the
truck driver's raw carrots, though I prefer carrots en casserole avec
poulet cocotte. But he excused himself to go to the men's room and
never came back. So, after waiting a considerable time, I paid the bill
with some Home to Harlem money and walked in the company of the
early dawn (which is delicious in Paris) back to the Rue Jean-
Jacques Rousseau.
Mr. Van Vechten's sheik friend was very upset. He was a precious,
hesitating sheik and very nervous about that introduction, wondering
if it would take. I said that all was okay. But upon returning to New
York he sent me a message from Mr. Van Vechten. The message
said that Mr. Van Vechten was sorry for not returning, but he was so
high that, after leaving us, he discovered himself running along the
avenue after a truck load of carrots.
Among the Negro intelligentsia in Paris there was an interesting
group of story-tellers, poets and painters. Some had received grants
from foundations to continue work abroad; some were being helped
by private individuals; and all were more or less identified with the
Negro renaissance. It was illuminating to exchange ideas with them.
I was an older man and not regarded as a member of the
renaissance, but more as a forerunner. Indeed, some of them had
aired their resentment of my intrusion from abroad into the
renaissance set-up. They had thought that I had committed literary
suicide because I went to Russia.
For my part I was deeply stirred by the idea of a real Negro
renaissance. The Arabian cultural renaissance and the great
European renaissance had provided some of my most fascinating
reading. The Russian literary renaissance and also the Irish had
absorbed my interest. My idea of a renaissance was one of talented
persons of an ethnic or national group working individually or
collectively in a common purpose and creating things that would be
typical of their group.
I was surprised when I discovered that many of the talented Negroes
regarded their renaissance more as an uplift organization and a
vehicle to accelerate the pace and progress of smart Negro society.
It was interesting to note how sharply at variance their artistic outlook
was from that of the modernistic white groups that took a significant
interest in Negro literature and art. The Negroes were under the
delusion that when a lady from Park Avenue or from Fifth Avenue, or
a titled European, became interested in Negro art and invited Negro
artists to her home, that was a token of Negroes breaking into upper-
class white society. I don't think that it ever occurred to them that
perhaps such white individuals were searching for a social and
artistic significance in Negro art which they could not find in their own
society, and that the radical nature and subject of their interest
operated against the possibility of their introducing Negroes further
than their own particular homes in coveted white society.
Also, among the Negro artists there was much of that Uncle Tom
attitude which works like Satan against the idea of a coherent and
purposeful Negro group. Each one wanted to be the first Negro, the
one Negro, and the only Negro for the whites instead of for their
group. Because an unusual number of them were receiving grants to
do creative work, they actually and naïvely believed that Negro
artists as a group would always be treated differently from white
artists and be protected by powerful white patrons.
Some of them even expressed the opinion that Negro art would
solve the centuries-old social problem of the Negro. That idea was
vaguely hinted by Dr. Locke in his introduction to The New Negro.
Dr. Locke's essay is a remarkable chocolate soufflé of art and
politics, with not an ingredient of information inside.
They were nearly all Harlem-conscious, in a curious synthetic way, it
seemed to me—not because they were aware of Harlem's intrinsic
values as a unique and popular Negro quarter, but apparently
because white folks had discovered black magic there. I understood
more clearly why there had been so much genteel-Negro hostility to
my Home to Harlem and to Langston Hughes's primitive Negro
poems.
I wondered after all whether it would be better for me to return to the
new milieu of Harlem. Much as all my sympathy was with the Negro
group and the idea of a Negro renaissance, I doubted if going back
to Harlem would be an advantage. I had done my best Harlem stuff
when I was abroad, seeing it from a long perspective. I thought it
might be better to leave Harlem to the artists who were on the spot,
to give them their chance to produce something better than Home to
Harlem. I thought that I might as well go back to Africa.

XXVIII
Hail and Farewell to Morocco
I SUPPOSE every man who achieves something worthwhile naturally
attracts some woman. I was interested in Carmina, who had a white
lover. Carmina was a pretty colored lady who had recently deserted
the best circles of Harlem for Paris. I liked Carmina. She had lived
her life a lot, even as I, and neither of us could reproach the other
about the past. But when Louise Bryant saw us together she scolded
me. "That girl is not your type," she said. "Why don't you go on living
as you always did? Why do you have to go around with a female on
your arm, simply because you have written a successful novel?" I
said that perhaps it was nothing more than "male conceit." Louise
Bryant laughed and said, "Take care you don't spoil yourself by doing
the thing that every man thinks he ought to do because of male
conceit."
Louise Bryant and Carmina did not like each other. The three of us
were spending a convivial evening together and, feeling gallant, I
tried to find something to praise in Louise's appearance. She had
been to a hairdresser's that afternoon and her neatly shingled hair
was gleaming black. I said, "Louise, your hair is very nice tonight."
Louise smiled her appreciation. But Carmina said, in a loud whisper,
"Can't you see it's dyed?" A blighting frost descended on the party.
It was a sweet relief to give up for awhile discussing problems of
race and art for an atmosphere of pure sensuality and amorous
intrigue. Carmina also had been fed up with too much race in the
upper circles of Harlem, which was why she had fled to Paris. One
night I was drunk and maudlin in Montparnasse and Louise Bryant
shrieked at me in high intoxicated accents, shaking her forefinger at
me, "Go away and write another book. Go home to Harlem or back
to Africa, but leave Paris. Get a grip on yourself." She looked like the
picture of an old emaciated witch, and her forefinger was like a
broomstick. Perhaps it was her better unconscious self warning me,
for she also could not get a grip on herself and get away from Paris.
I heeded the warning. I started off for Africa. But I lingered a long
time in Spain. The weeks turned into months. From Madrid I went to
Andalusia and visited Cordova and Granada again, then went back
to Barcelona. A French radical friend wrote chidingly about my
preference for Spain, so medieval and religion-ridden. I wrote him
that I expected radical changes in medieval Spain sooner than in
nationalistic France. That was no prophecy. The thing was in the air;
students mentioned it to you on the café terraces; waiters spoke of it
in the pensions and restaurants; chauffeurs spoke of their comrades
murdered in Morocco by King Alfonso; bank clerks said a change
was coming soon, and even guides had something to say. That was
in the winter of 1929-30. I was in Spain early in 1930 when the
dictatorship of Primo de Rivera collapsed. In the spring of 1931 I was
in Spanish Morocco when King Alfonso abdicated, and in Tetuán I
witnessed a wonderful demonstration of amity and fraternity between
the native Moorish and civilian Spanish populations. There in Africa I
hankered after Spain again and indited these three sonnets for
Barcelona:
BARCELONA
1
In Barcelona town they dance the nights
Along the streets. The folk, erecting stands
Upon the people's pavements, come together
From pueblo, barrio, in families,
Lured by the lilting playing of the bands,
Rejoicing in the balmy summer weather,
In spreading rings they weave fine fantasies
Like rare mosaics of many-colored lights.

Kindled, it glows, the magical Sardana,

And sweeps the city in a glorious blaze.
The garrison, the sailors from the ships,
The workers join and block the city's ways,
Ripe laughter ringing from intriguing lips,
Crescending like a wonderful hosanna.
2
Oh admirable city from every range!
Whether I stand upon your natural towers,—
With your blue carpet spreading to their feet,
Its patterns undulate between the bars,—
Watching until the tender twilight hours,
Its motion cradling soft a silver fleet;
Or far descend from underneath the stars,

Down—to your bottoms sinister and strange:

The nights eccentric of the Barrio Chino,
The creatures of the shadows of the walls,
Gray like the savage caricatures of Goya,
The chulos of the abysmal dancing halls,
And, in the garish lights of La Criolla,
The feminine flamenco of El Niño.
3
Oh Barcelona, queen of Europe's cities,
From dulcet thoughts of you my guts are twisted
With bitter pain of longing for your sights,
And for your hills, your picturesque glory singing,
My feet are mutinous, mine eyes are misted.
 Upon my happy thoughts your harbor lights
Are shimmering like bells melodious ringing
With sweet cadenzas of flamenco ditties.

I see your movement flashing like a knife,

Reeling my senses, drunk upon the hues
Of motion, the eternal rainbow wheel,
Your passion smouldering like a lighted fuse,
But more than all sensations oh, I feel
Your color flaming in the dance of life.
I was ready to begin another book, and a Moorish friend had put his
house in Fez at my disposal. But as soon as I landed in Fez, toward
the end of 1930, the French police pounced upon me. I had arrived
there a few days before the official visit of President Domergue of
France. The police declared I should leave Fez immediately. They
said British authorities had furnished proof that I was a political
agent; that I had carried on propaganda among the British military
forces and also visited Soviet Russia. I went to the British Consulate
for further information. There I was told that they possessed no
information about me, but that I must obey the local authority. They
wanted to send me back to Europe. I refused to go. I said I would
leave Fez if I were forced to, but I was determined to remain awhile
in Africa. So I went to Casablanca and from there to Tangier.
Months later a merchant from Fez came to Tangier and hinted why I
had been obliged to leave. He said that Moroccan custom permitted
anyone who had a serious grievance to complain to the sultan in
person when he made an official visit to a city. And as Morocco was
a protectorate of France, any person who desired could present his
complaint to the sultan of France during his official visit. But the
police had a system of banishing real malcontents for a short period
during the sultan's visit. The police had feared that I might seize an
opportunity to complain to the French sultan, President Domergue,
about the unjust treatment I received during my first visit to Fez! And
so they had ordered me to leave.
In Tangier I rented a Dar Hassani (native house) and went to work on
Gingertown, a book of short stories. Mail for me had accumulated in
Paris. When it arrived there was a little pile of letters from Carmina.
She chided me for deserting her and said that she, too, wanted to go
to Africa; that she was sick of Europe and growing worse. She had
met all the leading bohemians, writers and artists, more than I ever
met. She was a frequent visitor to the Rue Fleurus and was hooked
up with one of Gertrude Stein's young men. But she was disgusted
with him; he was just a poor white mouse, she said. She was sick of
it all and wanted to come to me.
Come to me! I was exceeding flattered, forgetting all about "male
conceit." The idea of Carmina leaving her white man for me was
tantalizing. She had introduced him to me in Paris, and he had said,
"J'ai le béguin pour toi." I said, "Merci, mais je n'ai pas." His
bloodless white skin was nauseating. He had no color.
Carmina had been traveling around a lot herself and confided to me
that she was keeping a diary of her randonnée. She thought I might
help her to publish it.
And so Carmina came to Morocco. It was just at the commencement
of l'Aïd El Kebir (the Big Feast), when the Moroccans cut the throats
of thousands of lambs and the air is filled with their plaintive bleating
and the crooked streets are running with their blood. We went to live
in my little native house at that time of the Great Sacrifice. In the
beginning it was nice, being together and working together. People
liked Carmina. She was pretty. The Spanish liked the name Carmina
because it had a little of Carmen in it. And the Moors liked Mina
because it was a native name derived from the lovely sweet flower,
Jasmine, which in Morocco is Yasmina, a name often given to
Negresses and Mulattresses. And I liked her being so much
admired.
I showed Carmina how to make Moroccan tea with mint and other
flavorful shrubs. And a native woman friend cooked us big bowls of
cous-cous in olive oil with the tenderest pieces of lamb and chicken.
The Aframerican honeymoon in Africa was quite happy, until
Carmina announced that she desired to marry me. But I couldn't
because I wasn't divorced and I expected some day to return to
America.
And now there was no peace between us. Carmina insisted she had
to marry, to satisfy her mother, who was a Christian church-loving
woman. In anger I said indiscreetly: "Why didn't you marry your white
man in Paris." She said she would show me she could marry him.
And one day she announced that her former white lover was coming
to Morocco to marry her. I said I thought that that wasn't a bad idea,
since she had to be married. I meant it. But my attitude turned
Carmina raging. She said the right kind of man would be jealous.
She was right, I suppose. But even from the angle of pure passion
only I couldn't imagine myself being jealous of Carmina's white lover.
And frankly I was interested in seeing her marry her white man from
a social point of view. Because the story of Negroes in civilization is
one of white men loving black women and giving them mulatto
children, while they preferred to marry their own white women.
Carmina said she was a modern woman and that if I were truly a
radical and bohemian, I would not have such reactionary ideas about
marriage. I asked her why she was not modern enough to live with a
black man as she had lived with a white man. Also I said I was
thinking in black-and-white, and that as marriage has a social value
and her white man was of the better class, I'd like to see her marry
him. Mixed marriages were mostly one-sided, colored men marrying
white women; I'd also like to see white men marrying colored
women, I told her. White men must have some social reason for not
marrying the Negro women in whose flesh they find delight.
My reasoning infuriated Carmina, and our relationship became
intolerable. She left me. Perhaps Carmina's white mouse had his
special white fascination. I have known women who used to be
afraid of mice and who in later years made pets of rats. Carmina's
Nordic came, but he didn't marry. After being surfeited with loving, he
left her still a spinster. I suppose it is easier for some women (like
some men) to have than to hold.
I have read white writers and heard white men who romantically said
that Negro women will not be faithful to white men. And there are
Negro writers who write vicarious tales of colored girls ditching rich
white men for black sheiks. I wonder what actual experience such
colored writers have. All bunk. And my experience is not limited to
just one. I know that in the West Indies the black and brown women
become the faithful mistresses of Europeans.
So Carmina left me for a white skin. I don't think because it was so
hot and I so cold. But the white skin is a symbol of money and
power. In North Africa the native social system holds out against the
European assault simply because the native women are confined in
their harems. To modern thinking minds this is objectionable. Yet it is
the native fanaticism in sex and religion which makes North Africa a
little more wholesome than the rest of that fatal continent.
Some folk's remedy for lost love is immediately to love again. But if it
is a big love, that remedy is like swilling beer to get rid of a
champagne hangover. For if one has a passionate love in his
system, I don't think indulging in lesser and indiscriminate loving
helps to rid one of it. At least not for me. My way is to face it and live
it down in hard work, sweat it out of my system. And so to get rid of
the feeling and the odor of lost love, I gave up the little house and
went for a few months up in the mountain fastness of Xauen in
Spanish Morocco. There I finished my book, Gingertown.
When I came back I leased a little house in the country by the sea,
about three miles out of Tangier. I found a little brown native girl to
take care of the house. She brought her mother along, so that she
could look her own people in the face without flinching. There also
was a boy on a bicycle to run errands. And we all cultivated the
garden and lived comfortably on twenty-five dollars each month.
One day when I was not at home, Carmina rode out there and
pushed herself into the house. Both mother and daughter were very
nonplussed by the American brown girl, who looked exactly like their
own people, yet did not dress like them nor talk their language.
Nevertheless, undaunted, they barred the way to my workroom.
Carmina fired a volley of Americanisms and departed. Some days
later it was reported to me in the Petit Socco of Tangier that she said
she had told the woman she ought to be horsewhipped. Also, she
had read a great book called Mother India about those awfully
uncivilized Asiatics, and she wished somebody would write a Mother
Morocco about the barbarous Africans.