"I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of barroom vernacular, this is done with the eyes open and the mind relaxed but attentive."
"Language, Chandler protests, lives and flourishes in bent rules, vernacular expressions—the unruly stuff of life. The Mutch of the poem is utterly in [opposition to this philosophy of authentic linguistic expression]."
In 1948, Raymond Chandler submitted an essay to The Atlantic criticizing Hollywood's mediocrity. Beyond disputes with the magazine's editor over the essay's title, Chandler became embroiled in a conflict with copy editor Margaret Mutch, who corrected a split infinitive in his text. Chandler objected strenuously, arguing that his unconventional syntax—including intentional split infinitives and vernacular expressions—was deliberate stylistic choice reflecting authentic speech patterns. He characterized his writing as a "broken-down patois" and insisted that rule-breaking was essential to creating living, vital language. Chandler expressed his frustration through a poem titled "Lines to a Lady With an Unsplit Infinitive," positioning Mutch as an antagonist to linguistic authenticity and natural expression.
#raymond-chandler #copy-editing-and-grammar #literary-style-and-language #the-atlantic-magazine-history #writer-editor-conflict
Read at The Atlantic
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