24.4.11
Alfred Kahn's memo
Alfred Kahn wrote a celebrated memo on writing with clarity. As described in The New York Times:
Here is the memo in full, spotted at here and here. Spotted via Boing Boing.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tYk6DHYl30rQYko5CELQ8Kq3Kt5-XiRYuxCJx3KIr9AebXEI4O10RdqkEqy1-ti6z38SxY-AmFUN0UcX5e3W3AhYJoIF83TcpPoLKq1qcZ3xDJF8orFSOgsZ6Zuldi8Tw=s0-d)
Though written long before the Internet age, the memo immediately went viral. It was published verbatim in The Washington Post, which also praised it in an accompanying editorial. It generated a marriage proposal from a Boston Globe columnist, who gushed: “Alfred Kahn, I love you. I know you’re in your late 50s and are married, but let’s run away together.” A Singapore newspaper suggested that Mr. Kahn be awarded a Nobel Prize. A Kansas City newspaper urged him to run for president. And, shortly after the memo’s appearance, he was appointed to the usage panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, a position he held until his death.
Here is the memo in full, spotted at here and here. Spotted via Boing Boing.