[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Run-on sentences

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

Lee:
> <LOL> Probably teaching that short is good hails from the difficulty some
> people have with deciphering long sentences. In my personal opinion, the
> champions of the long, convoluted sentence are those who specialize in
> "Legalese," a language that prides itself in brain-cramping complexity. :-)

Ali:
Oh I don't know.  I champion the judicious use of long sentences.  I
hate anything that is composed purely of short sentences (maybe that's
why I have such a visceral reaction to Hemingway).  Now, I'm not
talking Faulkner; none of that.  I am, however, talking about a
natural mix.  For example:

The rain is utterly vile.  God forbid that I could be home, instead of
at work, on this wretched day when the rain pounding again our
building sounds like the crunch of gravel beneath a moving car, a
grating sound that is liable to drive the listener mad.  It's amazing
how short the trip from sanity to madness is when a dreary day gets
involved.

See?  A combo.  That's how people write anyways, right?  Right?!
Okay, I know it's not - Word gets me on it every once in a while when
I write my quadruple compound sentences that are 6 lines long.  But
still, there's nothing wrong (or legalese-like) with an occasional
long sentence.  And did I mention that I took a ton of law courses are
part of my undergrad degree?  :)

In all seriousness, I think the short sentence was taught because kids
need to learn to get to the point (and, in my case, drive me mad).  If
you don't know exactly what you're trying to say, it's pretty easy to
lose yourself in a long sentence.  A short, active sentence, though,
gets straight to the point.

~Ali, who does not like reading either Hemingway or Faulkner but does
admire Faulkner's absurdly long sentences