On Cussing: Bad Words and Creative Cursing

F uck the Fuckity Fuckin' Fucker. Readers of Katherine Dunn won't be surprised that this was her father's favorite sentence, or that, as a young girl, she heard it as a kind of profane poem, a secret song. For many of us, the language of Geek Love carries a similar staying power, born of Dunn's agile use of language and her strange, beautiful diction. And as a true exegete of the expletive, she remained undividedly devoted to obscenity--both as scholar and practitioner.

In On Cussing, Dunn sketches a brief history of swear words and creates something of a field guide to their types and usages, from the common threat ("I'll squash you like a shithouse mouse") to the portmanteau intensifier ("Fan-fucking-tastic"). But she also explores their physiology--the physical impact on the reader or listener--and makes an argument for how and when to cuss with maximum effect. Equal parts informative and hilarious, this volume will delight Dunn's legion of fans, but it's also a must-have for anyone looking to more successfully wield their expletives, be it in writing or in everyday speech.

Author: Katherine Dunn
Publisher: Tin House Books
Published: 03/26/2019
Pages: 64
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.15lbs
Size: 6.00h x 4.30w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781947793262

About the Author
Dunn, Katherine: - Katherine Dunn was a novelist and boxing journalist who lived and worked in Oregon. She is the author of three novels--Attic; Truck; and Geek Love, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Prize--as well as the essay collection One Ring Circus. She died in 2016.