The author, Dr. Mardy Grothe DrMGrothe@aol.com ,
What the book is about and why I wrote it.
Hi, I'm Mardy Grothe. Thanks for your interest in my new
book, "Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool
You." This is the first popular book ever published on
the literary and rhetorical device known as chiasmus
(ky-AZ-mus). If you aren't sure what chiasmus means, you have
a lot of company. Most people--even the most sophisticated
and literate people--don't. Chiasmus occurs when the order of
words is reversed in parallel expressions. While you may not
be familiar with the word, you're well acquainted with the
phenomenon, for it shows up in thousands of famous sayings,
like "Failing to plan is planning to fail,"
"Quitters never win and winners never quit," and
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Some of the most clever, thought-provoking, and memorable
things ever said or written are examples, like JFK's famous
"Ask not what your country can do for you" line and
these other provocative examples:
"In the Halls of Justice, the only justice is in the
halls." -- Lenny Bruce
"Is man one of God's blunders, or God one of man's
blunders? -- Nietzsche
"Love makes time pass, time makes love pass." --
Italian Proverb
"The value of marriage is not that adults produce
children, but that children produce adults." -- Peter De
Vries
My goal is to bring chiasmus out of the closet of
obscurity and move it into the world of popular parlance. If
there's a precedent for what I'm trying to do, it's the word
oxymoron. Fifty years ago, it was a rare word, known by only
a small and select group of people. Today virtually all
literate people know what it means. I want the same thing to
happen with chiasmus.
I accidentally stumbled on the word nearly ten years ago
and, ever since, my life has been dominated by chiasmus and
the search for chiastic (that's the adjective) quotations. I
now have over 10,000 chiastic quotes in my personal
collection. I sometimes say, "I didn't just get into
chiasmus, chiasmus also got into me."
If you're a word, language, or quotation lover, I think
you will love this book. In it, you're going to find some of
the most incredible quotes ever assembled--including hundreds
I guarantee you've never seen before.
Once you begin using the word chiasmus in everyday
discourse, you'll probably impress people with your
erudition. And maybe you'll even put a few know-it-alls in
their place as you toss out a quote they've never heard
before and add innocently, "As you know, that's a
particularly fine example of chiasmus."
A working knowledge of chiasmus can also add some special
moments to your life, as you share your own chiastic
creations--sometimes quite spontaneously--with others. Here
are two recent examples from my life. I sent out an e-mail
the other day inviting friends to a book publication party.
When I had to type something in the subject line, the words
came almost effortlessly:
"Celebrating a Book and Booking a Celebration."
And while having dinner with friends recently, someone
asked me about my hopes for the book. I said, "Well,
I've had a wealth of experience, so I guess I'm hoping this
book will provide me with . . . I don't know . . . an
experience of wealth." We all laughed heartily, and
there were "oohs" and "aahs" from all
around as people marveled at my extemporaneous chiastic
reply.
Will this book provide me with an experience of wealth?
Probably not. But I've had a ball putting the book together,
and I think you'll have a ball reading it.
