Q&A with Gabe Henry

 

 

 

Gabe Henry is the author of the new book Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell. His other books include the poetry anthology Eating Salad Drunk. He lives in New York. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Enough is Enuf?

 

A: I’ve always been fascinated by language—how it works, how it doesn’t work, and how we all somehow manage to live with its many contradictions.

 

English spelling, in particular, struck me as this beautiful mess: full of history, but also full of headaches. I started digging into why it’s so inconsistent, and that rabbit hole led me to the bizarre, hilarious, and star-studded history of the simplified spelling movement.

Q: What are some of your favorite examples of the oddities of English spelling?

 

A: There are so many! "Colonel" is a particularly odd one—it’s a French word we stole and then kept pronouncing like an Italian one. And then there’s the classic O-U-G-H set: “though,” “through,” “tough,” "cough," “bough.”

 

But my favorite might be the word “ghoti,” which was a joke spelling of “fish” invented by spelling reformers. (G-H as in enough, O as in women, T-I as in nation.) Totally nonsensical, and yet… weirdly persuasive.

Q: New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake said of the book, “Gabe Henry has taken what sounds at first blush like a dry subject—English spelling—and written an incredibly fun, charming, hilarious book.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think Emily was right on the mark. Yes, the subject may sound dry at first, but the people behind it were anything but. These were obsessive, brilliant, sometimes ridiculous reformers who believed that changing the way we spell could actually make the world better. And once you start spending time with them, it becomes clear the story is about so much more than spelling.

Q: In a world of texts and emojis, what do you see looking ahead for spelling?

 

A: I think spelling is entering its next great evolution. For centuries, reformers tried to simplify English from the top down—with manifestos and proposals and presidential orders—and they mostly failed.

 

But now, thanks to texting, social media, and emojis, the change is happening organically, from the bottom up. People are already spelling words the way they sound, dropping silent letters, and using abbreviations on a daily basis.

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm in the early stages of writing a new book. Like Enough is Enuf, it’s part history, part cultural criticism, and full of forgotten weirdos with big ideas. In a way, it’s a spiritual cousin to Enuf. Hopefully I'll have more to announce soon!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb