Listen&Learn: Gadsby

Learn about an English novel without the letter “e”.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• lipogram: a text that excludes a certain letter
• challenge: a difficult task
• introduction: a beginning section in a book that gives information about the story or the author
• typewriter: a device that types letters directly on paper
• self-publish: to publish a book without the help of a publishing company

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Gadsby is a 1939 by American writer Ernest Vincent Wright. It is a lipogram, which means it does not include a specific letter of the alphabet. In Gadsby, there are no that contain the letter “e”. This was a challenge, because “e” is the most letter in English. In the introduction to the book, Wright says that he tied down the “e” key on his typewriter to stop himself from using it. Wright self-published his book, and he died before it became famous. However, it later other novel-length lipograms. One of these was a French novel called La Disparition, or A Void in English. This novel excluded the letter “e” in both the French original and the English .

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. A text that excludes a specific letter is called
   a. an epigram
   b. a lipogram
   c. an anagram
   
2. The most common letter in English is
   a. e
   b. a
   c. i
   
3. To stop himself from using the “e” key on his typewriter, Wright
   a. tied it down
   b. removed it
   c. painted it black

Discussion/essay questions

1. Can you make a comment without using the letter “e”?

Transcript

Gadsby is a 1939 novel by American writer Ernest Vincent Wright. It is a lipogram, which means it does not include a specific letter of the alphabet. In Gadsby, there are no words that contain the letter “e”. This was a challenge, because “e” is the most common letter in English. In the introduction to the book, Wright says that he tied down the “e” key on his typewriter to stop himself from using it. Wright self-published his book, and he died before it became famous. However, it later inspired other novel-length lipograms. One of these was a French novel called La Disparition, or A Void in English. This novel successfully avoided the letter “e” in both the French original and the English translation.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3a