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Proofreading (also proof-reading) is the reading of a galley proof or computer monitor to detect and correct production-errors of text or art. Proofreaders are expected to be consistently accurate by default because they occupy the last stage of typographic production before publication.

Professional proofreading[link]

Traditional method[link]

A proof is a typeset version of copy or a manuscript page. They often contain typos introduced through both human error and bugs in programming code. Traditionally, a proofreader looks at an increment of text on the copy and then compares it to the corresponding typeset increment, and then marks any errors (sometimes called line edits) using standard proofreaders' marks. Thus, unlike copy editing, proofreading's defining procedure is to work directly with two sets of information at the same time. Proofs are then returned to the typesetter or graphic artist for correction. Correction-cycle proofs will typically have one descriptive term, such as bounce, bump, or revise unique to the department or organization and used for clarity to the strict exclusion of any other. It is a common practice for all such corrections, no matter how slight, to be sent again to a proofreader to be checked and initialed, establishing the principle of consistent accuracy for proofreaders.

Alternative methods[link]

Copy holding or copy reading employs two readers per proof. The first reads the text aloud literally as it appears, usually at a comparatively fast but uniform rate of speed. The second reader follows along and marks any pertinent differences between what is read and what was typeset. This method is appropriate for large quantities of boilerplate text where it is assumed that the number of errors will be comparatively small.

Experienced copy holders employ various codes and verbal short-cuts that accompany their reading. The spoken word digits, for example, means that the numbers about to be read aren't words spelled out; and in a hole can mean that the upcoming segment of text is within parenthesis. Bang means an exclamation point. A thump made with a finger on the table represents the initial cap, comma, period, or similar obvious attribute being read simultaneously. Thus the line of text: (He said the address was 1234 Central Blvd., and to hurry!) would be read aloud as: in a hole [thump] he said the address was digits 1 2 3 4 [thump] central [thump] buluhvuhd [thump] comma and to hurry bang. Mutual understanding is the only guiding principle, so codes evolve as opportunity permits. In the above example, two thumps after buluhvuhd might be acceptable to proofreaders familiar with the text.

Double reading. A single proofreader checks a proof in the traditional manner, but then passes it on to a second reader who repeats the process. Both initial the proof. Note that with both copy holding and double reading, responsibility for a given proof is necessarily shared by two individuals.

Scanning, used to check a proof without reading it word for word, has become common with computerization of typesetting and the popularization of word processing. Many publishers have their own proprietary typesetting systems,^[1] while their customers use commercial programs such as Word. Before the data in a Word file can be published, it must be converted into a format used by the publisher. The end product is usually called a conversion. If a customer has already proofread the contents of a file before submitting it to a publisher, there will be no reason for another proofreader to re-read it from copy (although this additional service may be requested and paid for). Instead, the publisher is held responsible only for formatting errors, such as typeface, page width, and alignment of columns in tables; and production errors such as text inadvertently deleted. To simplify matters further, a given conversion will usually be assigned a specific template. Given typesetters of sufficient skill, experienced proofreaders familiar with their typesetters' work can accurately scan their pages without reading the text for errors that neither they nor their typesetters are responsible for.

Style guides and checklists[link]

Before it is typeset, copy is often marked up by an editor or customer with various instructions as to typefaces, art, and layout. Often these individuals will consult a style guide of varying degrees of complexity and completeness. Such guides are usually produced in-house by the staff or supplied by the customer, and should be distinguished from professional references such as The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Stylebook, The Elements of Style, or Gregg Reference Manual. When appropriate, proofreaders may mark errors in accordance with their house guide instead of the copy when the two conflict.

Checklists are commonly employed in proofrooms where there is sufficient uniformity of product to distill some or all of its components to a list format. They may also act as a training tool for new hires.

Qualifications[link]

The educational-level of proofreaders in general is on par with that of their coworkers. Typesetters, graphic artists, and word processors are rarely required to have a college degree, and a perusal of online job-listings for proofreaders will show that although some specify a degree for proofreaders, as many do not.^{[original research?]} Those same listings will also show a tendency for degree-only positions to be in firms in commercial fields such as retail, medicine, or insurance, where the data to be read is internal documentation not intended for public consumption per se. Such listings, specifying a single proofreader to fill a single position, are more likely to require a degree as a way of reducing the candidate-pool, but also because the degree is perceived as a requirement for any potentially promotable white collar applicant. Experience is discounted at the outset in preference to a credential, indicating a relatively low starting wage appropriate for younger applicants. In these kinds of multitasking desktop-publishing environments, Human Resources may even classify proofreading as a clerical skill generic to literacy itself. Where this is the case, it isn't unusual for proofreaders to find themselves guaranteeing the accuracy of higher-paid coworkers.

By contrast, printers, publishers, advertising agencies and law firms tend not to specifically require a degree. In these professionally demanding single-tasking environments, the educational divide surrounds the production department instead of the company itself. Promotion is rare for these proofreaders because they tend to be valued more for their present skill-set than for any potential leadership ability. They are often supervised by a typesetter also without a degree, or an administrative manager with little or no production experience who delegates day-to-day responsibilities to a typesetter. It follows that such listings tend to stress experience, offer commensurately higher rates of pay, and include mention of a proofreading test.

Proofreader testing[link]

Applicants. Practical job-training for proofreaders has declined along with its status as a craft, although many commercial and college-level proofreading courses of varying quality can be found online. There are also available numerous books that instruct the basics to their readers. Such tools of self-preparation have by and large replaced formal workplace-instruction.

Proofreader applicants are tested primarily on their spelling, speed, and skill in finding errors in sample text. Towards that end, they may be given a list of ten or twenty classically difficult words and a proofreading test, both tightly timed. The proofreading test will often have a maximum number of errors per quantity of text and a minimum amount of time to find them. The goal of this approach is to identify those with the best skill-set.

A contrasting approach to testing is to identify and reward persistence more than an arbitrarily high level of expertise. For the spelling portion of the test, that can be accomplished by providing a dictionary; lengthening the word-list conspicuously; and making clear that the test is not timed. For the proofreading portion a suitable language-usage reference book (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style) can be provided. (Note that knowing where to find needed information in such specialized books is itself an effective component of the test.) Removing the pressure of what is essentially an ASAP deadline will identify those applicants with marginally greater reservoirs of persistence, stamina, and commitment. At the same time, by mooting the need for applicants to make use of a memorized list of difficult words and a studied knowledge of the more common grammatical traps (affect, effect, lay, lie), applicants learn that their success depends primarily on a quality at least theoretically available to anyone at any time without preparation.

Formal employee-testing is usually planned and announced well in advance, and may have titles, such as Levels Testing, Skills Evaluation, etc. They are found in corporate or governmental environments with a large enough HR staff to devote to preparing and administering the tests.

Informal employee-testing takes place whenever a manager feels the need to take a random sampling of a proofreader's work by double-reading selected pages. Usually this is done without warning, and sometimes it will be done secretly. It can be highly effective, and there will certainly be times when such re-reading is justified, but care must be taken.

There are two basic approaches. The first is to re-read a proof within its deadline and in the department itself. Thus the manager will read from the same copy that the first reader saw, and be aware of any volume and deadline pressures the first reader was under, and can directly observe the individual in real time. This approach can also be followed as a matter of routine. The goal then is not to confirm a specific suspicion of poor job-performance by a particular reader, but rather to confirm a general assumption that the proofreading staff needs ongoing monitoring.

The second approach to informal testing is to wait for some days or weeks and then, as time allows, randomly select proofs to re-read while outside the department. Such proofs may or may not be accompanied by the copy pages that the proofreader saw. Here the re-reader is examining the proof from the perspective of typographical and formatting accuracy alone, ignoring how many other pages the first reader had read that day, and had yet to read, and how many pages were successfully read and how many deadlines were met under a given day's specific conditions.

Economics of proofreading[link]

Proofreading cannot be fully cost-effective where volume or unpredictable work flow prevents proofreaders from managing their own time. Examples would be thermographic trade printers of business cards, network hubs, and newspapers. The problem in each of these environments is that jobs can’t be put aside to be re-read as needed. In the first and third example, volume and deadlines dictate that all jobs be finished as soon as possible; in the second, jobs presently on-site at the hub are hurried, regardless of their formal deadline, in favor of possible future work that may arrive unpredictably. Where proofs can programmatically be read only once, quality will never be superior on average. Instead, it will randomly but persistently fall below expectations. Even the best and most experienced readers will not be able to consistently push the margin of accuracy far enough to justify premium pay.

Production technology can also moot the need to pay a premium for proofreading. In the example of thermographic business-card printing, even when there are no reprints, there is considerable wastage of paper and ink generated in preparing each of the press-runs, which are separated by color. When (as often happens) there is unused space available on the plate, there is no increase in production cost for reprints that use that space. Only when reprints are so numerous that they push production-staff into significant overtime would they increase costs. But significant overtime is usually the result of a high volume in new orders using up the eight-hour day. In such industries proofreading need only – and can only – make a marginal difference to be cost-effective. As for the customers, many will never return even when their jobs are perfect, and enough of those who do need a reprint will find the retailer’s cost-saving price to be satisfactory enough to tolerate a late delivery.

Only where workload volume doesn’t compress all deadlines to ASAP and the workflow is reasonably predictable can proofreading be worth a premium wage. Inflexible deadlines mandate a delivery time, but in doing so they necessarily don’t mandate delivery before that time. If deadlines are consistently maintained instead of arbitrarily moved up, proofreaders can manage their own time by putting proofs aside at their own discretion for re-reading later. Whether the interval is a few seconds or overnight, it enables proofs to be viewed as both familiar and new. Where this procedure is followed, managers can expect consistently superior performance. However, re-reading focuses responsibility instead of dividing it (as double-reading and copy holding, both described above, do) and obviously requires extra effort from proofreaders and a measure of independence from management. Instead of managers controlling deadlines, deadlines control managers, and leeway is passed to the proofreaders as well as commensurate pay.

Proofreading vs copy editing[link]

The misperception that proofreading is related to editing is a common one, and the term proofreading is sometimes used to refer to copy editing, and vice versa. Although there is necessarily some overlap, particularly regarding queries (see below), proofreaders typically lack any real editorial or managerial authority, having only the option of querying items for typesetters, editors, or authors to consider. To clarify matters at the outset, some want-ads come with a notice that the job advertised is not a writing or editing position and will not become one. The lesson is that creativity and critical thinking by their very nature conflict with the strict copy-following discipline that commercial and governmental proofreading requires, that proofreading and editing are fundamentally separate responsibilities.

Self proofreading/copy editing[link]

Primary examples include job seekers' own resumes and student term-papers. Proofreading this kind of material presents a special challenge, first because the proofreader/editor is usually the author; second because such authors are usually unaware of the inevitability of errors and the effort required to find them; and third, as finding any final errors often occurs just when stress levels are highest and time shortest, readers' minds resist identifying them as errors. Under these conditions, proofreaders will see only what they want to see.

There are numerous websites offering detailed advice on how authors should check their own material.^[2][3][4] The context is that of a one-time effort, neither paid nor deadline-driven. Some tips may not be appropriate for everyone, e.g., read upside down to "focus on typology", read backward, chew gum, listen to music, and don't use fluorescent lighting.^[5]

In fiction[link]

Examples of proofreaders in fiction include The History of the Siege of Lisbon (Historia do Cerco de Lisboa), a 1989 novel by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago, and the short story "Proofs" in George Steiner's Proofs and Three Parables (1992). Under the headline "Orthographical" in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, Leopold Bloom, watching the typesetter foreman Mr. Nannetti read over a "limp galleypage", thinks "Proof fever".^[6]

See also[link]

• American and British English spelling differences
• Copy editing
• Distributed Proofreaders
• ETAOIN SHRDLU
• Fact checker
• Galley proof
• ISO 5776
• Obelism
• Printing press check
• Society for Editors and Proofreaders (in the UK)
• Style guide
• Typographical personification
• Typographical syntax
• Writing circles

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up proofreading in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Importance of the Proof-reader by John Wilson
• Merriam-Webster's Proofreader Marks Page
• Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
• Society for Editors and Proofreaders (UK)

Taylor Mali
Taylor Mali at the international school in Stockholm
Born	(1965-03-28) March 28, 1965 (age 47) New York City, New York, USA
Occupation	Poet, Teacher, Voice Actor
Nationality	American
Literary movement	Slam Poetry
Notable work(s)	What Learning Leaves
Spouse(s)	Marie-Elizabeth Mundheim
Influences Billy Collins, Saul Williams, Walt Whitman, Rives, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye
www.taylormali.com

Taylor McDowell Mali (born 28 March 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.^[1][2][3]

Life[link]

A 10th-generation native of New York City, Taylor Mali graduated from the Collegiate School, a private school for boys, in 1983. He received a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College in 1987 and an M.A. in English/Creative Writing from Kansas State University in 1993. He also studied drama with the Royal Shakespeare Academy at Oxford. One of four children, his mother was children's book author Jane L. Mali,^[4] a recipient of the American Book Award, and his father was H. Allen Mali, vice president of Henry W.T. Mali & Co., manufacturers of pool table coverings. He is the great-great-grandson of John Taylor Johnston, founding president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1993, he married Rebecca Ruth Tauber, who died in 2004. On May 13, 2006 he married Marie-Elizabeth Mundheim,^[5] a high school friend.

Poetry[link]

Taylor Mali performing at the international school in Stockholm

As a slam poetry performer, Taylor Mali has been on seven National Poetry Slam teams; six appeared on the finals stage and four won the competition (1996 with Team Providence; 1997, 2000 and 2002 with Team NYC-Urbana). Mali is the author of What Learning Leaves and the Last Time as We Are (Write Bloody Publishing), has recorded four CDs, and is included in various anthologies. Poets who have influenced him include Billy Collins, Saul Williams, Walt Whitman, Rives, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye. He is perhaps best known for the poem "What Teachers Make."

He appeared in Taylor Mali & Friends Live at the Bowery Poetry Club and the documentaries "SlamNation" (1997) and "Slam Planet" (2006). He was also in the HBO production, "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry," which won a Peabody Award in 2003. Taylor Mali is the former president of Poetry Slam Incorporated, and he has performed with such renowned poets as Billy Collins and Allen Ginsberg. Although he retired from the National Poetry Slam competition in 2005,^[6] he still helps curate NYC-Urbana Poetry Series, held weekly at the Bowery Poetry Club.

Teaching[link]

Taylor Mali spent nine years teaching English, history, and math, including stints at Browning School, a boys' school on the Upper East Side of New York City, and Cape Cod Academy, a K-12 private school on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He now lectures and conducts workshops for teachers and students all over the world. In 2001 Taylor Mali used a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts to develop the one-man show "Teacher! Teacher!" about poetry, teaching, and math. He is a strong advocate for the nobility of teaching and in 2000 he set out to create 1,000 new teachers through "poetry, persuasion, perseverance, or passion." As of January 13, 2012, he has 891.^[7]

Published works[link]

Books[link]

• What Learning Leaves, 2002 - ISBN 1-887012-17-6

Audio CDs[link]

• The Difference Between Left & Wrong, 1995
• Poems from the Like Free Zone, 2000
• Conviction, 2003
• Icarus Airlines, 2007

Anthologies[link]

Collections in which Taylor Mali's work is included

• Poetry on Stage: At the Red Barn Theatre, Key West, 1995 ISBN 978-1-888036-00-8
• Poetry Nation: The North American Anthology of Fusion Poetry, 1998, ISBN 1-55065-112-9
• Will Work For Peace: New Political Poems, 1999, ISBN 0-9666459-1-X
• Bearing Witness, 2001, ISBN 978-1-56976-130-4
• Freedom to Speak Anthology, 2002, ISBN 1-893972-07-0
• The Spoken Word Revolution 2003, ISBN 978-1-4022-0037-3

CD Anthologies[link]

Collections in which Taylor Mali's work is included

• Attack of the Urbanabots (The Wordsmith Press, 2007)
• New High Score (The Wordsmith Press, 2004)
• Writers Week IX (WWIX, 2004)
• Best of Urbana 2003 (The Wordsmith Press, 2003)
• The Kerfuffle Incident: Best of the Kalamazoo Poetry Slam (KPS, 2003)
• Urbana: Bowery Poetry Club (The Wordsmith Press, 2002)
• Freedom to Speak Anthology(CD) (The Wordsmith Press, 2002)
• Spoken Word Underground (The Wordsmith Press, 2001)
• NYC Slams (Anthology) (PoetCD, 2000)

Narration[link]

• American Fairy Tales, audiobook, 1998
• Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, audiobook, 2000
• Hope Along the Wind: The Story of Harry Hay, documentary, 2002
• Blizzard!, audiobook, 2003
• The Great Fire, audiobook, 2003
• Revenge of the Whale, audiobook, 2005
• ESCAPE! The Story of the Great Houdini, audiobook, 2006
• Close To Shore, audiobook, 2007

Awards[link]

• 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002 - National Poetry Slam winning team
• 2001 - U. S. Comedy Arts Festival jury prize for best solo performance, "Teacher! Teacher!"
• 2003 - AudioFile Earphones Award for The Great Fire.

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Performance poetry
• Poetry slam
• Spoken word
• Voice acting
• Bowery Poetry Club

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Taylor Mali at the Internet Movie Database
• Taylor Mali's channel on YouTube
• Taylor Mali profile, Famecast web site
• Podcasts of poems
• Watch Taylor Mali recite his poems at Open-Door Poetry
• Audio of "What Teachers Make," "Like Lilly Like Wilson," "The Entire Act of Sorrow," "Depression Too Is a Kind of Fire," "Holding Your Position," "For the Life of Me," and "How To Write a Political Poem" (among others) on Indiefeed Performance Poetry Channel

YouTube videos[link]

Mali posts videos on his channel at YouTube of his own and other performances:

• Like You Know on YouTube
• What Teachers Make on YouTube
• The Impotence of Proofreading on YouTube
• Like Lilly Like Wilson on YouTube

David "Dave" Barry
Dave Barry at the 2011 Washington Post Hunt
Born	David Barry (1947-07-03) July 3, 1947 (age 64) Armonk, New York
Occupation	Humorist Author
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Ann Shelnutt (approx. 1970-before 1976) Beth Barry (1976-1993) Michelle Kaufman (1996-)
Children	Rob Barry (b. 1980) Sophie Barry (b. 2000)
Signature	File:Dave Barry signature.jpg
www.davebarry.com

David "Dave" Barry (born July 3, 1947) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.

Barry was born in Armonk, New York, where his father—also named David Barry—was a Presbyterian minister. He was educated at Wampus Elementary School and Harold C. Crittenden Junior High School (both in Armonk), and Pleasantville High School where he was elected "Class Clown" in 1965. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Haverford College in 1969. In his book, Dave Barry's Greatest Hits, he stated that during college he was in a band called "The Federal Duck."

As the son of a minister and an alumnus of a Quaker-affiliated college, Barry avoided military service during the Vietnam War by registering as a religious conscientious objector.^{[citation needed]}

After divorcing his college sweetheart, Barry married his second wife, Beth Lenox, in 1976 and they had one child, Robert, in 1980. Barry and Beth worked together at the Daily Local News in West Chester, PA, where they began their journalism careers on the same day in September, 1971. Barry and Lenox divorced in 1993. In 1996, Barry married Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman; they had a daughter, Sophie, in 2000. He has had dogs named Earnest, Zippy, and now Lucy. All are mentioned regularly in Barry's columns.

While with the Miami Herald, he created a band with his colleagues and named it the "Urban Professionals", where he played lead guitar. At the Tupperware Headquarters in Orlando, Florida, he played his hit song, "The Tupperware Song".^[1]

He currently plays lead guitar in the The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band founded by his late sister-in-law, Kathi Kamen Goldmark in 1992.^[2] Other members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Barry’s brother Sam, and Mitch Albom.^[3]

Journalism career[link]

Dave Barry began his journalism career in 1971, working as a general assignment reporter for the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, near Haverford College from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He covered government and civic events in communities like Downingtown and Coatesville, and was promoted to City Editor after about two years. He also started writing a weekly humor column for the paper, and began to develop his unique style. He remained at the newspaper through 1974. He then worked briefly as a copy editor for The Associated Press at its Philadelphia Bureau before joining Burger Associates, a consulting firm.

At Burger, he taught effective writing to business people. In his own words, he "spent nearly eight years trying to get various businesspersons to ... stop writing things like 'Enclosed please find the enclosed enclosures,' but ... eventually realized that it was hopeless."^[4]

In 1981 he wrote a humorous guest column in the Philadelphia Inquirer which attracted the attention of Gene Weingarten, then an editor at Tropic, the Sunday magazine of the Miami Herald in Miami, Florida.

In 1983, Barry was hired by Weingarten as a humor columnist. Barry won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988, "for his consistently effective use of humor as a device for presenting fresh insights into serious concerns."^[5]

For a 1992 American Booksellers Association convention, several authors including Barry formed a band for charity called The Rock Bottom Remainders ("remainder" is a publishing term for a book that doesn't sell). The members of the band, which has at various times included Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson, Mitch Albom, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Roy Blount, Jr., Barbara Kingsolver and Matt Groening, "are not musically skilled, but they are extremely loud," according to Barry. Several high-profile musicians including Al Kooper, Warren Zevon and Roger McGuinn have performed with the band, and Bruce Springsteen sat in at least once. The band's road tour resulted in the book Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude, which is now out of print.

Barry's first novel, Big Trouble, was made into a motion picture; directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, it starred Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Dave's World alumnus Patrick Warburton, with a cameo by Barry. The movie was originally due for release in September 2001, but was postponed shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks because the story involved smuggling a nuclear weapon onto an airplane.

In 2002, Barry poked fun at the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota; the city responded by naming a sewage pumping station after him. Barry was a good sport and appeared in Grand Forks for the dedication.^[6]

Articles written by Barry have appeared in publications such as Boating, Home Office Computing and Reader's Digest, in addition to the Chicken Soup for the Soul inspirational book series. Two of his articles have been included in the Best American Sportswriting series. One of his columns was used as the introduction to the book Pirattitude!: So You Wanna Be a Pirate? Here's How! (ISBN 0-451-21649-0), a follow-up of Barry's hand in creating International Talk Like a Pirate Day. His books have frequently appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Barry helps organize the Herald Hunt, formerly the Tropic Hunt, an annual puzzlehunt in Miami. He has run several mock campaigns for President of the United States, running on a libertarian platform. He has also written for the Libertarian Party's national newsletter.^[7]

On October 31, 2004, Dave Barry announced that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence of at least a year from his weekly humor column with the Herald in order to spend more time with his family. He said that he would continue writing humor and children's books and working on filming the screen adaptation of his book, Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys, which was released in 2005; it premiered at several film festivals, and is available on DVD, though a theatrical release seems unlikely. On December 28, 2005, Barry said in an interview with Editor and Publisher that he will not resume his weekly column, although he would continue such features as his yearly gift guide, year in review, his weblog, as well as an occasional article or column.

[edit] Dave's World television series

CBS broadcast the situation comedy Dave's World for four seasons, from 1993 to 1997, based on the books Dave Barry Turns 40 and Dave Barry's Greatest Hits, starring Harry Anderson as Barry, and DeLane Matthews as his wife, Beth. In an early episode, Barry was cast in a cameo role. The program was canceled shortly after being moved from Monday to the "Friday night death slot".

Style[link]

Barry has defined a sense of humor as "a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge."^[8]

When distinguishing fact from hyperbole, Barry frequently asserts: "I am not making this up." Among his favorite topics are exploding or flaming items (cows, whales, vacuum cleaners, toilets, Pop-Tarts, Barbie dolls, etc.), dogs lacking intelligence, live blogging, the television series 24, and amusing government studies. He labels various posts on his blog with long acronyms, such as WBAGNFARB ("would be a good name for a rock band"), poking fun at long internet abbreviations.

He also enjoys making fun of South Florida, where he resides. In Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway, he suggested that many of America's problems could be solved if South Florida were literally sawed off from the mainland and disowned by the United States. He also has made fun of the region in Homes and Other Black Holes as well as other books of his. Even his novels, Big Trouble and Tricky Business, capitalize heavily in the absurdities that exist only in South Florida. In Big Trouble, for example, the ridiculous nuances of South Florida are expressed through the experiences of the two hit men, Henry and Leonard. They experience an irritating sports talk show host, a highly incompetent airport security detail, and are attacked by a python by the name of Daphne in the same airport before deciding that they never want to return to Florida again. Barry also uses Big Trouble to poke fun at the existence of a Russian arms black market, the corrupt political system (Puggy makes a living off being paid to vote), and the incredibly loose labor laws in the region.

The phrase "would be a good name for a rock band" is an observation Barry often applies to phrases that pop up in his writing, such as "The Moos of Derision",^[9] "Decomposing Tubers"^[10] and "Hearty Polyp Chuckles".^[11] In keeping with this, Barry's website contains a fairly sizable list of phrases that he claims would be good names for a rock band.^[12]

In his humor books, Barry often cites a humorous phrase or image, which he then mercilessly repeats throughout. Notable examples include the Hawley-Smoot Tariff in Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States, Buffalo Bob in Dave Barry Turns 50, and giant prehistoric zucchini in Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway, e.g."Growth of U.S. government according to Alan Greenspan=giant prehistoric zucchini." He continues to reference these things, occasionally with fake subtlety (e.g., "The H*****-S**** T*****").

His novels typically feature numerous initially unrelated subplots, many related to criminal activity, which slowly intertwine over the course of the story. Many critics explicitly compare this style to that of Elmore Leonard, though with a more comedic tone.^[13]

Religious views[link]

Barry is the son of a Presbyterian minister, and decided "early on" that he was an atheist.^[14] He said "the problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes."^[14] In I'll Mature When I'm Dead, Barry describes himself as non-religious but describes attending synagogue with his Jewish wife.

Works[link]

Non-fiction[link]

• The Taming of the Screw (1983)
• Babies and Other Hazards of Sex: How to Make a Tiny Person in Only 9 Months With Tools You Probably Have Around the Home (1984)
• Stay Fit and Healthy Until You're Dead (1985)
• Claw Your Way to the Top: How to Become the Head of a Major Corporation in Roughly a Week (1986)
• Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex (1987)
• Homes and Other Black Holes (1988)
• Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States (1989)
• Dave Barry Turns 40 (1990)
• Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need (1991)
• Dave Barry's Guide to Life (1991) (includes Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex, Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, The Taming of the Screw and Claw Your Way to the Top)
• Dave Barry Does Japan (1992)
• Dave Barry's Gift Guide to End All Gift Guides (1994)
• Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys (1996)
• Dave Barry in Cyberspace (1996)
• Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs (1997)
• Dave Barry Turns 50 (1998)
• Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway: A Vicious and Unprovoked Attack on Our Most Cherished Political Institutions (2001)
• "My Teenage Son's Goal in Life is to Make Me Feel 3,500 Years Old" and Other Thoughts On Parenting From Dave Barry (2001)
• "The Greatest Invention In The History Of Mankind Is Beer" And Other Manly Insights From Dave Barry (2001)
• Dave Barry's Money Secrets (2006)
• Dave Barry on Dads (2007)
• Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far) (2007)
• I'll Mature When I'm Dead (2010)

Collected columns[link]

• Dave Barry's Bad Habits: A 100% Fact-Free Book (1987)
• Dave Barry's Greatest Hits (1988)
• Dave Barry Talks Back (1991)
• The World According to Dave Barry (1994) includes Dave Barry Talks Back and Dave Barry's Greatest Hits
• Dave Barry is NOT Making This Up (1995)
• Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus (1997)
• Dave Barry Is Not Taking This Sitting Down (2000)
• Boogers Are My Beat (2003)

Fiction[link]

• Big Trouble (1999)
• Tricky Business (2002)
• Peter and the Starcatchers (2004, with Ridley Pearson) ISBN 0-7868-3790-X
• Peter and the Shadow Thieves (2006, with Ridley Pearson) ISBN 0-7868-3787-X
• Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (2007, with Ridley Pearson) ISBN 0-7868-3788-8
• Escape From the Carnivale (2006, with Ridley Pearson) ISBN 0-7868-3789-6
• The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog (2006)
• Cave of the Dark Wind (2007, with Ridley Pearson) ISBN 0-7868-3790-X
• Science Fair (2008, with Ridley Pearson)
• Peter and the Sword of Mercy (2009, with Ridley Pearson)
• Blood Tide (2008, with Ridley Pearson)
• The Bridge To Never Land (2011, with Ridley Pearson)
• Lunatics (2012, with Alan Zweibel)

Film adaptations[link]

• Big Trouble (2002)
• Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys (2005)

Collaborations[link]

• Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude (1994) with Stephen King, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Al Kooper, Ridley Pearson, Roy Blount, Jr., Joel Selvin, Amy Tan, Dave Marsh, Tad Bartimus, Matt Groening, Greil Marcus, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Dorris
• Naked Came the Manatee (1998) with Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, James W. Hall, Edna Buchanan, Les Standiford, Paul Levine, Brian Antoni, Tananarive Due, John Dufresne, Vicki Hendricks, Carolina Hospital, Evelyn Mayerson

Audio recordings[link]

• A Totally Random Evening With Dave Barry (1992)

See also[link]

Novels portal

• Exploding whale

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dave Barry

• The Official Dave Barry Website
• The Official Dave Barry Blog
• Write TV Public Television Interview with Dave Barry
• Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson on new book: Science Fair on Fora.tv Oct. 20, 2008
• Dave Barry, The Miami Herald
• Big Trouble at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete Guide to Guys at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete Guide to Guys official website
• Rock Bottom Remainders, "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records
• "The Last Laugh" (Final column)
• Dave Barry Interview Podcast - Horace J. Digby Report

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