I am a similar wielder of the em dash, and was surprised when it somehow became a signifier of the Hestonian cold, dead hand of AI at work. Loved this piece and how - in a display of ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, even though it appears that theory has been largely discredited - the individual em-dashery of your sentences is mirrored in the larger m-dashery of the piece itself. The em dash affords an essential permission to divagate - no self-respecting essay can be written without it - but at the same time, or a different time, or any time - writing that is as "worried" but as wiggle-free as Hemingway's sentences, would be syntactically allergic to its plummy, emmy presence. The em dash allows writer's thought process to come through, like a sketch underneath a painting, and there is no one such process I would rather limn than yours.
Another killer piece, James! 👏 Love your quote from Oliver Sacks as to what’s lost of the sensory world when everything is digitized.
Personally, with commas and colons and semi-colons and parentheses (oh my!) available, I have never used nor felt the need for an em-dash. But that’s all a matter of taste and tradition and the many options available to the writer.
I am a similar wielder of the em dash, and was surprised when it somehow became a signifier of the Hestonian cold, dead hand of AI at work. Loved this piece and how - in a display of ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, even though it appears that theory has been largely discredited - the individual em-dashery of your sentences is mirrored in the larger m-dashery of the piece itself. The em dash affords an essential permission to divagate - no self-respecting essay can be written without it - but at the same time, or a different time, or any time - writing that is as "worried" but as wiggle-free as Hemingway's sentences, would be syntactically allergic to its plummy, emmy presence. The em dash allows writer's thought process to come through, like a sketch underneath a painting, and there is no one such process I would rather limn than yours.
Thank you for these smart and most generous words.
What a masterful work this article is. Many thanks for your thoughtful picture of the state of the written word.
Loved it,
Bravo
Thank you for reading it and for your kind words. I’m glad to know it resonated with you.
Another killer piece, James! 👏 Love your quote from Oliver Sacks as to what’s lost of the sensory world when everything is digitized.
Personally, with commas and colons and semi-colons and parentheses (oh my!) available, I have never used nor felt the need for an em-dash. But that’s all a matter of taste and tradition and the many options available to the writer.