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    The New Verse News presents politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues.

    Monday, December 26, 2016

    THE CONSPIRACY SURROUNDING THE 2016 WORD OF THE YEAR

    by Howard Richard Debs


    Merriam-Webster has succeeded in its attempt to stop “fascism” being named its word of the year: the dictionary publisher’s word of 2016 is “surreal”. —The Guardian, December 19, 2016

    They sat at a table
    outside of Clary’s Café
    the free lance journalist
    and the book editor of
    the New World Post.
    It was early in the morning
    the literary buffs who visit
    Savannah usually show up
    after noon to see the place
    featured in Berendt’s Midnight
    in the Garden of Good and Evil
    so it was mainly a few locals eating
    breakfast fare hot buttered grits
    and the house special egg
    concoction hoppel poppel.

    The Morning News squashed
    my story. Too sensitive right now.
    My source is reliable. She says the word
    was number one in searches. She says
    Merriam-Webster got a call,
    I quote her in the piece:
    ‘Pick something else, we don’t
    care how you get it done’ that’s what
    they were told to do. So
    they put out that tweet begging
    people to look up other words.
    It’s a cover-up for sure.
    ‘Surreal’ trumps ‘fascism’—
    no way.”


    Howard Richard Debs received a University of Colorado Poetry Prize at age 19. After fifty years in communications, and an Educational Press Association of America Distinguished Achievement Award, he resumed his creative pursuits. Finalist and recipient 28th Annual 2015 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Awards, his work appears internationally in numerous publications including Yellow Chair Review, Silver Birch Press, Syzygy Poetry Journal, Dime Show Review, The Clear Poetry 2015 Anthology. His essay "The Poetry of Bearing Witness" appeared in On Being - On The Blog, and his photography in select publications including Rattle online where he served as “Ekphrastic Challenge" artist and guest editor. His full length work Gallery: A Collection of Pictures and Words is forthcoming from Scarlet Leaf Publishing in early 2017.

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