Record Number: 30706
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Meeting held at Frensham. 6th Oct. 1943
Howard R. Smith in the chair.
1. Minutes of the last meeting were read & approved.
[...]
5. Kenneth Nicholson discoursed to us on ‘Style’. He confessed that the more he
had gone into the subject the further he had got out of his depth, but this fact was
not apparent, for what he said was most interesting and illuminating. He gave as
his four essentials for good style: Clarity, Rhythm, Sincerity and the Emergence of
Personality. Kenneth Nicholson illustrated these qualities by quotations from such
varied sources as: The Telephone Directory; an advertisement for Sanitas powder;
the Dean of Harvard; Charles Morgan; Walter Pater; C. E. Montague; G. K
Chesterton; H. G. Wells; T. E. Lawrence; a Leighton Park boy and a Press
reporter. In the discussion which followed, some members thought that good style
could be achieved without sincerity, and reference was made to the regrettable
absence of clarity in legal documents and official forms.
6. F. E. Pollard then read 7 examples of prose writing and we were asked to write
down the authors. It was only to be expected that Kenneth Nicholson, who had
been studying the subject, should come out top with 5 right answers. [...]
[signed as a true record by] A. B. Dilks
8.11.43. [at the club meeting held at 39 Eastern Avenue: see Minute Book, p. 165]'
1900-1945
Date:6 Oct 1943
Country:England
Timeevening
Place:city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Frensham, Northcourt Avenue
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:n/a
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:n/a
Religion:Quaker or associated with the Friends
Country of Origin:n/a
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
Members of the XII Book Club
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[unspecified text]
Genre:Unknown
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:30706
Source:Manuscript
Author:Margaret Dilks
Title:XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943)
Location:private collection
Call No:n/a
Page/Folio:161–165
Additional Information:
Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes.
Citation:
Margaret Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 161–165, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30706, accessed: 17 August 2024
Additional Comments:
Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).