Limmud presenter information

[lethargic_man]

*growl* Limmud have edited the presenter information I sent them. I sent them:

Despite lacking any formal training in the subjects he will be speaking on—Semitic languages and the Samaritan Torah—Michael Grant was once commissioned or at least asked to write a book of ancient Carthaginian baby names; and created the cuneiform texts in a recently published novel.

They edited it to:

Michael Grant lacks any formal training in the subjects he will be presenting: Semitic languages, and the Samaritan Torah. He was once commissioned, or at least asked, to write a book of ancient Carthaginian baby names; and has created the cuneiform texts in a recently published novel.

This changes the import of the blurb from qualifying my knowledge to actively arguing against me—not something I want when I want people to attend my talks. I'll be lucky if I get anyone turning up now!

It's too late to change the text for the handbook, but I've asked them to change the online blurb to put in a "Nevertheless, " before the second sentence.

Comments

[hatam_soferet]

You still started your blurb with basically a negative. Don't do that!

[lethargic_man]

Well, I've been using that blurb for the previous five years, and still getting about thirty people turning up to each of my talks. I'll change it next year.

[pseudomonas]

I suggest "Michael Grant, an autodidact, …"

(OK, you could go with "entirely self-taught", but you'll get fewer people turning up in the hope that you'll be made of chromed steel with little flashing lights and whirring bits.)

[lethargic_man]

?

[bluepork]

Yup. Totally agree with that.

First time I read it, I thought it came across like this:

Despite not really knowing what he's talking about, Michael will blah blah blah...

Not really the desired effect I should think!

[green_knight]

That's a rather mean-spirited edit. And a totally incompetent one :-(

Limmud - at least the intense learning part of it - sounds wonderful. The organisers, less so.

[iddewes]

Honestly, I don't see why they feel the need to 'edit' presenter's blurbs at all unless they are really long or misspelt or ungrammatical, none of which apply to your original! Hopefully there will at least be some people who remember you from other years or who have been told about your talks by their friends or something, since you have been presenting for so long.

[bluepork]

agreed