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Mind the gap
Shop talk What he learned in the newsroom Mr. Boffo lays an eggcorn Curse of the mummy's tummy More in Word Watch  |
« Putting endnotes in their place | Main | More on footnotes and endnotes » Tuesday, May 8, 2007Standing up for footnotesHere is a classic Gertrude Himmelfarb screed, from 1991 -- an early cry in the dark -- against the triumph of endnotes over footnotes, and the confusions such typographic layouts lead to. (Worse, she says, are those books by historians, aimed at a popular audience, that eschew notes altogether.) Irony watch: When this piece was reprinted in a collection of Himmelfarb essays (this one, I think), the footnotes were replaced by ... end notes. It's worth remembering that footnotes aren't just about sources; they are an art form unto themselves, and have been for centuries before David Foster Wallace arrived on the scene with his patented amplifications and re-thinks. Keep burying them in the back of books and there's no incentive to make them interesting. EARLIER: Putting endnotes in their place Posted by Christopher Shea at 07:50 AM
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