We last celebrated lexicologist Noah Webster during the October 16, 2022 Digital Digest, which fell on his birthday. Now we're diving into more about his influences and legacy. 

Index 

- Announcements
- Exhibition Connection: Noah Webster's Greek leanings
- Featured Upcoming Programs: Learn about Noah Webster and light pollution 
- Recommended Reading: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
- Recommended Reading: Two books that play with language 
- Special Collections: Emily Dickinson lexicon and its surprising underpinnings
- Spotted at Pequot Library: A lovely window at wintertime 
- Development Dispatch: You're invited to the launch of our Young Patron's Group 
- Community Corner: Operation Hope fundraisers

Register for these three upcoming digital talks produced in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium:

March 13 at 1 p.m.: bestselling author of The Range David Epstein
March 21 at 4 p.m.: Southern Inspired with Celebrity Chef Jernard A. Wells
March 28 at 7 p.m.: bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris Pam Jenoff

Join us for an in-person Meet the Author with Timothy Cole on March 8 at 6 p.m.

Don't miss a moment. Follow us on social media!

The Digital Digest is a collaborative e-newsletter by Pequot Library staff, and managed by our Marketing and Communications department. Questions and feedback can be sent to  [email protected].

Announcements

Library Hours
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday: Open late! 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday: closed

Exhibition Connection

Noah Webster (1758-1843) set out to create a uniquely American and more uniform version of the English language independent from what he saw as negative British influences. He felt a certain urgency in this quest, for he knew that American English would soon splinter into countless dialects as new inhabitants spread out. His new and modern form of English came out of ancient traditions. We know, for example, that he studied Greek in advance of enrolling at Yale, as was a common practice during his day, and he also drew upon Hellenic traditions and philosophies; noteworthy facts to consider now during Greek Heritage Month. His ideas about lexicography flow from philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, both of whom probed into language and questioned the real meaning of words. Finally, Webster's concern with civic virtue builds upon Aristotle’s thoughts about a broad system of state education and the Spartan model, for, as he wrote in 1790 that, “A system of national education will implant in the minds of American youth… an inviolable attachment to their own country.” New Yorker copyeditor Mary Norris probes into Greek influences on American English and Webster's role in shaping the language in an excerpt of her book, It's All Greek to Me. Reserve a copy of the full book through our Interlibrary Exchange.

Webster's proposal for the new American English show an eagerness to forge logical guiding rules. He convinced Americans to substitute center for the British centre, among other wins. However, many of his reforms, such as substituting wimmen for ‘women’, brought derision. His reputation rested on the strength of his definitions, even though many readers deemed them overly tied to New England usage and/or a moral and religious agenda, as this article by Webster scholar E. Jennifer Monaghan elucidates. Learn more about his life and legacy during a special program, The Words and Ideas of Noah Webster: A Conversation with the Noah Webster House & Joshua Kendall, on March 9 at 6:30 p.m. (See Upcoming Programs below for more details.)

Pequot Library's current exhibition, Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children's Books and the Shaping of American Identity, features Webster's An American Selection of Lessons in Reading and Speaking, which taught millions of children correct elocution through introducing numerical superscripts that guided vowel pronunciation and by changing the syllabification of words to an approach still used today (i.e. si-ster became sis-ter). 

An American Selection of Lessons in Reading and Speaking by Noah Webster
Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews, 1793
Pequot Library Special Collections

Upcoming Programs

The Words and Ideas of Noah Webster: A Conversation with the Noah Webster House & Joshua Kendall
March 9, 6:30 p.m.

Apart from creating the first concise dictionary, Noah Webster existed as a deep thinker and educational reformer who influenced the creation of a distinctly American method of learning. With Joshua Kendall, author of The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture, and Jennifer Matos, former Executive Director of West Hartford’s Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society, enjoy an evening of discussion and learning. This talk is produced in conjunction with our exhibition, Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children’s Books and the Shaping of American Identity.

Lights Out Connecticut: Presentation and Panel Discussion
March 7 at 6 p.m.

For this special event, join area scholars and activists in a presentation and panel discussion on the Lights Out Connecticut initiative. Every year, bird migration is significantly impacted by light pollution. Listen to experts from Yale University, Sacred Heart University, Lights Out Connecticut, the International Dark-Sky Association, and Connecticut Audubon to learn how you can help in your community.

Click here to see our full calendar of events.

More For Adults

Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen
by Mary Norris

Mary Norris has spent more than three decades at The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. She brings her vast experience, good cheer, and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book full of life and practical advice.

>> Check me out

Looking for something special? Sign up for an Adult Book Bundle to receive a curated box of two books and a cozy refreshment, especially for you.

For Kids And Teens

CDB 
by William Steig

This vibrant and delightful picture book invites little ones to sound out words using the names of letters. Using these gramograms, they can C D B (see the bee) and more!

>>Check me out

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Starr Carter navigates life in two worlds—her low-income, mostly black neighborhood, and her well-to-do, mostly white private school. Readers see the teenager code switch, or shift the way she expresses herself based on her surroundings.

>>Check me out

Special Collections

Emily Dickinson called her “Lexicon” her only companion in one of her letters, and scholars have shown that she was referring to an 1844 reprint of Noah Webster's unabridged 1841 American Dictionary of the English Language. Her family's copy of this text is now housed at Harvard's Houghton Library. Webster lived in Dickinson's hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, and he worked on his 1828 dictionary there between 1812 and 1822. He also co-founded Amherst College with Emily’s grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson and played a role in starting Amherst Academy, the school that she attended between 1840 and 1847 alongside Webster's biographer and granddaughter, Emily Ellsworth Fowler Ford. The girls became close friends.

Parallels between Webster's 1844 dictionary and Dickinson's work emerge when one reads them side by side, as this source explains. For instance, in Poem J833/Fr273, she uses stoop in the first stanza and bend in the second stanza, both of which share double meanings, according to Webster, of inclining forward and making oneself subservient. She also includes love in stanza two, which Webster equates with "leaning forward." Dickinson's patterns extend to even more seemingly unrelated words within the poem; she includes commemorate, death, love, and Christ, all of which appear in Webster's definition of sacrament. However, scholars caution, some of these word pairings might be coincidental, evidence of Dickinson and Websters' shared New England cultural influences and reference points. Follow this link to the Emily Dickinson Museum's tips for reading and interpreting her work.

Letters of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson, Edited by Mabel Loomis Todd
Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1894
Pequot Library Special Collections

Spotted At Pequot Library

Special Projects Manager Jen Prat snapped this lovely shot of a stained glass window in our Auditorium. 

Development Dispatch

Community Corner

Reading With Robin Presents: Heather Webb, Lauren Willig, and Sarah Penner | A Fundraiser for Operation Hope and Pequot Library
March 21, 6 p.m.

March is Women’s History Month, and Pequot Library is thrilled to partner with Robin Kall of Reading with Robin as she hosts three bestselling authors, Lauren Willig, Heather Webb, and Sarah Penner, for an entertaining conversation. Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit Operation Hope and Pequot Library.

VIP Registration + Mingling: $75 | Includes priority seating, exclusive VIP reception meet and greet with the authors at 6 p.m., light bites and wine, book signing, and Meet the Authors program

General Admission Registration: $20 | Includes Meet the Authors program only (arrive starting at 6:45 p.m.)

Click here to purchase your tickets!