Every island to a child is a treasure island.
P. D. JamesRead
Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
Interpretation
Enhancing your vocabulary is essential for effective writing.
P. D. James emphasizes the importance of a strong vocabulary for anyone who writes. By recognizing words as the fundamental tools of writing, she suggests that a richer vocabulary leads to more impactful and effective communication, while also highlighting the beauty and versatility of the English language.
In practice
In a writing workshop, to motivate participants to enhance their vocabulary.
Every island to a child is a treasure island.
If from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.
I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism.
What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
Bookstores should be located not only on campuses or on main drags, but at the assembly plant's gates, also.
My parents believed in education and economic security, and I thank them for it. Because I think that's part of what's made my life stable. It was instilled in me. You have to be able to pay your bills. You do not get into debt. And I never have been.
Universities think people come up with great ideas by closing the door. The academic tenure process, where you have to publish to journals which are very narrow, stands in the way of great research.
Beware of letting small faults pass unnoticed under the idea it is a little one. There are no little things in training children; all are important. Little weeds need plucking up as much as any. Leave them alone and they will soon be great.
There is nothing of any consequence in education, in the economy, in city planning, in social policy that does not concern black people.
What if you love knowledge for its own sake, not necessarily as a blueprint to action? What if you wish there were more, not fewer reflective types in the world?
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