I’ve been trying really hard to fall back in love with the English language, and this gargantuan compendium of racehorse lineages is really helping. There’s such a pleasing alchemy to the way the names evolve over the different generations, and then often end up with a thoroughbred whose moniker can be interpreted as having multiple meanings. It ain’t quite Jack Gilbert, but it’s helping me reacquaint myself with the snap and patter of the written word. And trust me when I say that’s sorely needed these days: There’s been a certain going-through-the-motions quality to my writing in recent months, and I need to do everything in my power to extricate myself from that trend. If reading up on the great-grandparents of horses with names like Lear Skywalker and Diablo’s Number is what gets me over the hump, then so be it.
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.