On Cussing: Bad Words and Creative Cursing

Written by Katherine Dunn

Narrated by Caroline Aaron

F uck the Fuckity Fuckin' Fucker. Readers of Katherine Dunn won't be surprised that this was her father's favorite sentence, or that, as a young girl, she heard it as a kind of profane poem, a secret song. For many of us, the language of Geek Love carries a similar staying power, born of Dunn's agile use of language and her strange, beautiful diction. And as a true exegete of the expletive, she remained undividedly devoted to obscenity?both as scholar and practitioner. In On Cussing, Dunn sketches a brief history of swear words and creates something of a field guide to their types and usages, from the common threat ("I'll squash you like a shithouse mouse") to the portmanteau intensifier ("Fan-fucking-tastic"). But she also explores their physiology?the physical impact on the reader or listener?and makes an argument for how and when to cuss with maximum effect. Equal parts informative and hilarious, this volume will delight Dunn's legion of fans, but it's also a must-have for anyone looking to more successfully wield their expletives, be it in writing or in everyday speech.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980036623

Katherine Dunn

Katherine Dunn was a novelist and boxing journalist who lived and worked in Oregon. She is the author of three novels: Attic; Truck; and Geek Love, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Prize. She died in 2016.

Reviews for On Cussing

[Kristen (kc) Snow-White · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I fucking love this fucking audio!! If your shy and the f-bomb makes you cringe, there are zero reasons for you to waste 51 min. of your life that you'll never get back. If you're a writer of cozy prose, this audio isn't your bag of shit either. Personally... being raised by a truck driver and all-around Union dad, cussing was normal. But, it had its place and I was in my late teens before I said "Damn it." I'm sure my mom wasn't in earshot. Back to, "On Cussing"... If you're a writer of the hard-boiled type, I highly recommend this. There are few things more annoying than inconsistent dialogue. If the words the character is saying don't fit, that can fuck up a really good read | listen.

[spinsterrevival · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was not what I thought it would be. Apparently it’s a lecture the author gave to MFA writing students as advice on how to use swearing in their work. I’ve never read the author but just really love learning about language, and swearing is one of my favorite things to do. So this was rather boring as it held no interest for me, and now I need to find Melissa Mohr’s work (which I’d already heard about from Sarah Maclean) on swearing. I’m at least glad that the money I spent on it went to a fund for women writers (slightly ironic as all examples in here were from men).