Literary Nonfiction. The bawdy English language has never been overly concerned with purity, and this promiscuous proclivity has contributed to many alluring word histories. Richler combines his etymological talents with those of the muck-raking journalist to expose the louche baggage that many words have accumulated throughout the centuries. Composed of short chapters with each containing ten words from specific fields, STRANGE BEDFELLOWS will surprise and delight the reader.

Author City: Montreal, ON CAN

Howard Richler is a longtime language journalist who has written many books on language: Can I Have a Word with You? (Ronsdale Press, 2007) Global Mother Tongue: The Eight Flavours of English (Vehicule Press, 2007), A Bawdy Language: How a Second-Rate Language Slept Its Way to the Top (Stoddart, 1999), Take My Words: A Wordaholic's Guide to the English Language (Ronsdale Press, 1996), and The Dead Sea Scroll Palindromes (Robert Davies Publishing, 1995). Richler makes his home in Montreal.