A Sourcebook for Basic Writing Teachers ed. by Theresa Enos (review)

Book Reviews241 brochures, and try to tell ourselves that we are less misused and mystified than people in a gentlemanly society" (134). David Castronovo has given us an enlightening piece of social and literary history, a book written with grace and scholarly precision. To suggest that his excellent work might be further enhanced by a more comprehensive index would be, well, ungentlemanly. ROBERT C. STEENSMA University ofUtah THERESA ENOS, ed. A Sourcebook for Basic Writing Teachers. New York: Random House, 1987. 691 p. It seems that the usual pattern for book reviews is a threefold one: point out the good features of a work, lament the features with which one takes issue, and close with an analysis of the book's place in the literature on the subject. I can do the first and last here, but I can find nothing to lament about this book except its rather steep price. Those who teach basic writing, and those of us who teach teachers of basic writing, know that resources in the field are limited and scattered, and that a thoughtful, wide-ranging collection of essays on the subject has long been needed. Here, at last, is that book. The book is divided into three major sections: "Contexts," "Theories," and "Strategies" for basic writing teachers. There is also an enormously useful bibliography of books and monographs, dissertations, and articles dealing with basic writing. The "Strategies" section is by far the longest of the book (almost half of its pages), reflecting the fact that most of what has been written on the subject has been of necessity pragmatic. This observation is not a criticism ofthe book, but a recommendation, since strategies are what teachers are most in need of when faced with a roomful of students with writing problems like none they have ever seen before. Many will find this the most helpful section. There are some 42 essays altogether, written by some of the most well known figures in the field of literacy and writing. Familiar pieces abound: Walter Ong"s classic essay "Literacy and Orality in our Times," Mike Rose's "Remedial Writing Courses: A Critique and a Proposal," E.D. Hirsch's "Cultural Literacy," Sondra Perl's "The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers," Andrea Lunsford's "Cognitive Development and the Basic Writer," Janice Hays' "The Development of Discursive Maturity in College Writers" (to which she adds a postscript critiquing some aspects of her essay), Nancy Sommers' "Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers," Kenneth Bruffee's "Writing and Reading as Collaborative or Social Acts," David Bartholomae's "Teaching Basic Writing: An Alternative to Basic Skills," and selections from Mina Shaughnessy's Errors and Expectations. Readers looking for the best that has been thought and said about basic writing will not be disappointed. There are also essays written especially for this collection. Lynn Troyka's "Defining Basic Writers in Context" deals with the elusive question of how to define the term; Robert Conners' "Basic Writing Textbooks: History and Current Avatars" points out the melancholy fact that most modern texts are like their rule-bound, drill-and-practice ancestors, demonstrating ignorance 242Rocky Mountain Review of all we have learned in the last two decades about writing and revising. Michael Southwell's "Microcomputers and Writing Instruction" provides a useful introduction to using computers in ways other than basic word processing (text analysis, for example). Patricia Bizzell reflects on the essential nature of literacy and its social ramifications in "Literature in Culture and Cognition." One of these commissioned essays deserves to be singled out for particular praise. Karen Greenberg's "Research on Basic Writers: Theoretical and Methodological Issues" stresses the importance of a comprehensive theoretical framework for any research effort in language studies, and suggests fruitful approaches that a teacher-researcher might take. It should be required reading for anyone contemplating research in writing. But while the individual essays make informative and helpful reading, the most valuable thing about this collection is the fact that for the first time these pieces can be seen together; looking at them in a body gives a rich new perspective on the subject ofbasic writing. Putting essays by Paulo Friere and E.D. Hirsch...