A new self-teaching course in practical English and effective speech : comprising vocabulary development, grammar, pronunciation, enunciation, and the fundamental principles of effective oral expression
Lesson one. First among the evidences of an education I name correctness and precision in the use of the mother tongue / Nicholas Murray Butler-- Lesson two. The flowering moments of the mind drop half their petals in our speech / Oliver Wendell Holmes-- Lesson three. Those things which now seem frivolous and slight will be of serious consequence to you, when they have made you once ridiculous / Earl of Roscommon-- Lesson four. His words, like so many nimble servitors, trip about him at command / Milton-- Lesson five. Talking is one of the fine arts... and its fluent harmonies may be spolied by the intrusion of a single harsh note / Oliver Wendell Holmes-- Lesson six. Language most shows a man; speak, that I may see thee / Ben Jonson-- Lesson seven. Drawing is speaking to the eye; talking is painting to the ear / Joubert-- Lesson eight. And it is so plain to me that eloquence, like swimming, is an art which all men might learn, though so few do / Emerson-- Lesson nine. Mend your speech a litter, lest it may mar your fortunes / Shakespeare-- Lesson ten. Language is the dress of thought; every time you talk your mind is on parade / Anonymous-- Lesson eleven. Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact / George Eilot-- Lesson twelve. What is not in a man cannot come out of him surely / Goethe-- Lesson thirteen. Language is the armory of the human mind, and at once contains the trophies of its past, and the weapons of its future, conquests / Coleridge-- Lesson fourteen. The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none / Carlyle-- Lesson fifteen. He ceas's, but left so pleasing on the ear, his voice, that listening still they seemed to hear / Homer
The universal dictionary of the English language : a new and original compilation giving all pronunciations in simplified and in more exact phonetic notations, extensive etymologies, definitions, the latest accepted words in scientific, technical, and general use, with copious illustrative phrases, and colloquialisms
A dictionary of correct English : a manual of information and advice concerning grammar, idiom, use of words, points of styles, punctuation, pronunciation, and other practical matters
The writer's desk book : being a reference volume upon questions of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, division of words, indention, spacing, italics, abbreviations, accents, numerals, faulty diction, letter writing, postal regulations, etc., etc.
Fred McGuinness published 17 articles in Reader’s Digest magazine. His most intensive period of writing for the digest was between 1972 and 1982. McGuinness published his first story, “RAPESEED: Golden Bounty for the Prairie Farmer,” in August of 1972. The story “Mrs. K’s Eggs” (1992) appears to be his final publication with the magazine. McGuinness noted in one of his Neighborly News columns (#701, May 24, 1993) that his account about John Lane and his bluebird boxes, titled “The Man Who Brought the Bluebirds Back” (1973), generated the most readers’ correspondence.
Most of McGuinness’ topics focused on agriculture in the Canadian prairies and included: rapeseed, beef/cattle farming, credit unions, ranching, wheat, soil erosion, trout farming, honey, and birds (killdeers, bluebirds, and turkeys). Several articles – “Northwest of 17,” “Boy with Wheel,” “He’s Got a Good Fist,” and “Mrs. K’s Eggs” – were autobiographical in nature.
McGuinness contributed six articles to the Reader’s Digest book division for their publication, Reader’s Digest Scenic Wonders of Canada: An Illustrated Guide to Our Natural Splendors (1976). His assignment for the book focused on the prairie region and McGuinness contributed segments on Clear Lake/Riding Mountain National Park, Cypress Hills, The Big Muddy, Lake of the Woods, Qu’Appelle Valley, and Valley of the Dinosaurs/badlands of Red Deer Valley.
McGuinness conducted research on a number of topics for Reader’s Digest that did not get published with the magazine and he, therefore, published these stories elsewhere. Subjects included: wild rice, Father Larre, Frederick Phillip Grove, coal on the prairies (“Chores/Chore Boy”), community symbols, researching/writing local history, and a story titled “Hole in the Ground.” McGuinness ultimately published his “Frederick Phillip Grove” (1984) and “Coal Days on the Prairies” (1986) articles with Western People magazine. He would write about wild rice, Father Larre, and community symbols in his syndicated Neighborly News column. McGuinness used his local history research materials for his Brandon Sun Diary columns and possibly for the Friesen publication Local History Style Guide (1984) as well as in his memoir writing workshops. He continued to rework “Hole in the Ground,” a story about the swimming pool at Christmas Tree Farm, until 2009.
Fred McGuinness often used his Reader’s Digest articles as writing samples in his memoir writing workshops. He also continually added materials to his research files after an article was published, and in the case of his Reader’s Digest materials, he built upon his “writing local history” and “community symbols” files.
Custodial History
Accession 1-2015 contains records created and collected over the course of McGuinness’ career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The Estate of Fred McGuinness donated the materials to the SJ McKee Archives circa 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
The subseries consists of records created and collected by Fred McGuinness during his time as a journalist, editor, and freelance writer in Manitoba. It includes research materials (e.g., newspaper clippings, copies of articles and book chapters, brochures, pamphlets), notes, drafts, copies of published Reader’s Digest articles, and correspondence.
Notes
Information in the history/biography was taken from Neighborly News columns (McG 2.3 file 12, file 17, file 18); letter dated April 29, 1874 to Glen Sutherland from Fred McGuinness (McG 3.1, file 6); and personal e-mail communication from Rick Ediger, Editor, Reader’s Digest, March 25, 2015
In the file level inventories, square brackets at the end of file names reference the original location of the file in the unprocessed Fred McGuinness collection. The original location is also noted on the front of each file folder
Accruals
Closed
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Fred McGuinness would write/publish about a topic in a number of forums. Therefore, it is possible research materials pertaining to this subseries may be found in the Fred McGuinness collection subseries: Correspondence (McG 1.2), Brandon Sun (McG 2.2), Neighborly News (McG 2.3), Miscellaneous freelance (McG 3.2), Local history research (McG 4.1), and Talks and workshops (McG 6.3)
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been re-arranged according to publication period
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