This week on The Easy Chair, I read a funny and thought-provoking short story by the late Roald Dahl, "The Great Automatic Grammatizator." For anyone who has ever wondered if there is a can’t fail writing formula, or if maybe, just maybe, the surest route to publication can be accomplished by computer algorithm- this is the story for you. Young Adolph Knipe has created a computer that can be fed data that will, if his boss Mr. Bohlen allows, make writers and writing obsolete. At the end of the day, writers want to write, but more than that, they want certain publication, fame, and money. It’s all about cornering the market, baby, and novels are big business. This tale will have even the most earnest of young writers pondering their calling and their future. Tune in!

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