On Beyond Zebra!

Having mastered the twenty-six letters of the English rudiment, Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell is surprised to discover that there are other letters out there, beyond Z. Guided by the narrator, who steps in to plowshare this perplex data, he learns about such letters as the Yuzz, used to spell Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz ; or the Thnad, used to spell Thnadners. Following along on a travel of enchanted discovery, Conrad Cornelius learns nineteen newfangled letters, and meets nineteen strange new creatures, real

Originally published in 1955, On Beyond Zebra was Dr. Seuss’ eleventh picture-book, published the year after and With its catalogue of fantastic fictional creatures, it is reminiscent of earlier Seuss titles like , as well as and . With its alphabetic element however, it is also unlike these earlier books, and does something wonderful and new, introducing the idea, through a wild and wacky story, that there are other kinds of letters, and by extension, other sorts of writing systems out there, beyond the one that young children might know. I never encountered this one as a child – something I now regret – and picked it up as part of my recently undertaken Dr. Seuss retrospective, in which I plan to read and review all forty-four of his classic picture-books, in chronological publication order. It is a project that I began as an act of personal protest against the suppression of six of the author/artist’s titles – this one, as well as , , , and – by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, because they contain outdated and potentially offensive elements.

As a young girl who had a fascination with languages and writing systems, a girl who created her own make-believe kingdom with its own history and elaborate customs, I would have adored On Beyond Zebra!. As it happens, I too created my own letters, just like Dr. Seuss, and my kingdom (Arcania) had its own language, with its own alphabet. Sadly, I have lost all my papers from that period in my life, but I recall that I enjoyed creating the rather ornate letters in my writing system, which was modeled on the Latin alphabet, but which used very different characters to represent upper and lower case letters, and long and short forms of the vowels. Reading this picture-book reminded me of the pleasure I took in creating my own language as a girl, and how that imaginative play led to my interest in real-world languages as an adult. I got a real thrill, therefore, reading this tale of another child discovering such wonders, and perusing the letters Dr. Seuss created, beyond Z:

In thinking of why Dr. Seuss Enterprises chose to suppress this title, I must conclude that it is owing to the letter Spazz, used to spell Spazzim, a camel-like creature ridden by the Nazzim of Bazzim. This fellow looks to be Middle-Eastern, in a sort of vague way – the camel-riding, the headdress – and is no doubt interpreted by critics as an example of Orientalism. For my part, while I see that the depiction is a caricature – something upon which all of Seuss’ work rests – I did not perceive anything hateful in it. If anything, it felt like a reference to stories like , or other tales from . I would imagine that any number of western retellings of the latter could also be accused of Orientalism, so let’s hope these self-styled arbiters of morality don’t come for those classic stories as well. It strikes me as such a deep shame, that a book like this, which could lead children naturally and creatively into a better awareness of the richness of human language, and of the writing systems of the world, should be suppressed because of one arguably offensive caricature. It is ironic that, in taking steps to (in their own imagination) defend other cultures and peoples, these critics have decided to oppose a story that could be used to teach young children an appreciation for the linguistic diversity of our world, and for the cultural diversity from which it springs. Then again, these people really aren’t defenders of culture (their own or anyone else’s) at all, but architects of a new uni-culture, to be enforced through bullying and character assassination. One need only look at the specious accusations of far-right racism lobbed at any reader who opposes this move on the part of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, by some of our commentariat, as well as by private citizens online, to see that this is true.

Joshua T. Katz, a professor of linguistics at Princeton University who teaches a freshman seminar entitled “Wordplay: A Wry Plod from Babel to Scrabble” – a course which includes both On Beyond Zebra and James Joyce’s on its syllabus – concludes in The New Criterion, that this recent censorious move by Dr. Seuss Enterprises is a form of madness. I quite agree. Having mastered the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell is surprised to discover that there are other letters out there, beyond Z. Guided by the narrator, who steps in to partake this amazing information, he learns about such letters as the Yuzz, used to spell Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz ; or the Thnad, used to spell Thnadners. Following along on a travel of hex discovery, Conrad Cornelius learns nineteen new letters, and meets nineteen strange newly creatures, realizing that there is indeed much to be found, beyond the letter Z … in the first place published in 1955, was Dr. Seuss ‘ eleventh picture-book, published the year afterandWith its catalog of fantastic fabricated creatures, it is evocative of earlier Seuss titles like, as well asand. With its alphabetic element however, it is besides unlike these earlier books, and does something fantastic and new, introducing the mind, through a barbarian and cockamamie report, that there are other kinds of letters, and by extension, other sorts of writing systems out there, beyond the one that young children might know. I never encountered this matchless as a child – something I immediately regret – and picked it up as function of my recently undertaken Dr. Seuss retrospective, in which I plan to read and review all forty-four of his authoritative picture-books, in chronological issue club. It is a project that I began as an act of personal protest against the suppression of six of the author/artist ‘s titles – this one, a well asand- by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, because they contain outdated and potentially nauseating elements.As a young girl who had a fascination with languages and writing systems, a daughter who created her own make-believe kingdom with its own history and detailed customs, I would have adored. As it happens, I besides created my own letters, precisely like Dr. Seuss, and my kingdom ( Arcania ) had its own language, with its own rudiment. sadly, I have lost all my papers from that period in my life, but I recall that I enjoyed creating the rather flowery letters in my write system, which was modeled on the Latin rudiment, but which used very different characters to represent amphetamine and lower case letters, and long and short forms of the vowels. Reading this picture-book reminded me of the joy I took in creating my own language as a female child, and how that imaginative play led to my interest in real-world languages as an adult. I got a real bang, therefore, reading this narrative of another child discovering such wonders, and perusing the letters Dr. Seuss created, beyond Z : In remember of why Dr. Seuss Enterprises chose to suppress this title, I must conclude that it is owing to the letter Spazz, used to spell Spazzim, a camel-like creature ridden by the Nazzim of Bazzim. This fellow looks to be Middle-Eastern, in a classify of dim way – the camel-riding, the headdress – and is no doubt interpreted by critics as an case of Orientalism. For my part, while I see that the depiction is a caricature – something upon which all of Seuss ‘ work rests – I did not perceive anything hateful in it. If anything, it felt like a reference to stories like, or other tales from. I would imagine that any number of western retellings of the latter could besides be accused of Orientalism, so lease ‘s hope these self-styled arbiters of ethical motive do n’t come for those classical stories as well. It strikes me as such a deep shame, that a bible like this, which could lead children naturally and creatively into a better awareness of the richness of human language, and of the writing systems of the global, should be suppressed because of one arguably offense caricature. It is ironic that, in taking steps to ( in their own resource ) defend early cultures and peoples, these critics have decided to oppose a narrative that could be used to teach young children an admiration for the linguistic diverseness of our global, and for the cultural diverseness from which it springs. then again, these people very are n’t defenders of culture ( their own or anyone else ‘s ) at all, but architects of a modern uni-culture, to be enforced through strong-arm and character assassination. One necessitate only look at the specious accusations of reactionary racism lobbed at any proofreader who opposes this motion on the separate of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, by some of our commentariat, a well as by private citizens online, to see that this is true.Joshua T. Katz, a professor of linguistics at Princeton University who teaches a newcomer seminar entitled “ pun : A Wry Plod from Babel to Scrabble ” – a course which includes bothand James Joyce’son its course of study – concludes in his holocene article in, that this late censorious move by Dr. Seuss Enterprises is a form of rabies. I quite agree.