It's "zoh-ee"!!

[Chris Kubica]

Someone at Slate.com was writing about Salinger and sent me this. Now we know officially:

"Hi Chris,

Thanks with your reply. I actually ended up getting in touch with Salinger's agent, Phyllis Westberg, who says that it's "zoh-ee." The more you know!

Best,"

-- 

Chris Kubica

[James Rovira]

Cool. Is that her pronunciation, or the way that she's heard Salinger say it?

Jim

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--
James Rovira
Tiffin University

[Chris Kubica]

Well I don't know. Since Salinger is gone, I'd just assume that is the official way to pronounce it. I'll ask though.

-- 

Chris Kubica

[James Rovira]

Yeah, ask, would be cool to know. Remember that DJ we met in NY,
Chris? I think she pronounced it zoo-ey.

Jim R

[Sundeep Dougal]

I think the list consensus over the years had been on zoo-ey. Here's a 1997 thread:
http://www.roughdraft.org/JDS/JDS.ocon.jul97/0343.html

with none other than Tim weighing in.
Miss him and Scottie. I wonder whether Will and Matt (kozusko) ever joined this list. Where is D? Where is Cynthia?

Where are all the other old-timers? Does anyone here date back to the Stephen Foskett days?

Sonny

[Chris Kubica]

Sonny,

I'm pretty sure I started on one of the early lists dating back to 1996 or 1997 or so. I don't think Will is in the Google Group.

-- 

Chris Kubica

[Chris Kubica]

Yeah, I remember. I also remember that was like 7 years ago. Time flies, huh!

-- 

Chris Kubica

[James Rovira]

Flies with a vengeance. Like fruit flies.

Jim R

[Chris Kubica]

OK, here's what she said:

"All I got was that this is the way it's supposed to be pronounced, which
makes me think it's how Salinger did it.

Hillary"

So I'd say it is officially "Zoh-ee" for the ages.

-- 

Chris Kubica

On Feb 10, 2010, at 4:04 PM, James Rovira wrote:

[Chris Kubica]

Before Tim O'Connor's list, weren't we on Usenet at like alt.something.salinger?

-- 

Chris Kubica

On Feb 10, 2010, at 4:14 PM, Sundeep Dougal wrote:

[James Rovira]

Well, I don't think someone's agent is the last word on anything, even
Salinger's agent :). But, the wikipedia page for the actress Zooey
Deschanel seems to pronounce it "zoo-ey," and she was named after the
Glass family character:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooey_Deschanel

But, according to IMDB, she pronounces her name "zoh-ee," but there's
no documentation for this fact:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0221046/bio

And, this lecturer at Yale pronounces it "zoh-ee"

http://academicearth.org/lectures/jd-salinger-franny-and-zooey

Standard Written English, I think, would pronounce it "zoo-ey," but
conventions for first names are another thing entirely.

Jim

[Daniel Moore]

I've always heard "Zoh-ee" for the actress, which allowed me a sense of smug satisfaction during late show interviews that Phyllis Westberg has now stolen from me forever. My reasoning, besides reading the back numbers of this mailing list, has always been that a family with children named or nicknamed Boo-Boo, Waker, and Buddy would not aim for the more conventional-sounding name. 

Regards

Dan

[D.]

I can only guess that I'm the "D." in question here.  If not, I apologize in advance.

I'm here, and have been here pretty much since the list's migration, though I have chosen to keep quiet unless called upon or feel especially compelled to chime in.  Thank you for the opportunity to do so.

To say I miss Tim would be the understatement of the moment.  I miss Scottie and his unique ways of presentation, too, but marginally less so, as this list, for some time, seemed like Tim's baby, his digital labor of love when he wasn't pressed down by the demands of the Every Day World.  When JDS passed two weeks back, I thought almost immediately of Tim and  wondered how he would have reacted to Salinger's death.  My reaction, much to the bewilderment of family and friends, have decided to reread all of Salinger's published works in exact chronological order (courtesy of the the Lundquist Salinger bibliography) as a tribute to career unmatched or unparalleled in American Literature.

Oh, and I always thought it was "ZOO-EE", though I had little to go on beyond the way a coworker pronounced it when I read it for the first time.

Good to see this list active and flourishing!

D.

---

From: Sundeep Dougal <sundeep...@gmail.com>
To: bananaf...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, February 10, 2010 4:14:32 PM
Subject: Re: It's "zoh-ee"!!

[Chris Kubica]

So what is your actual name?

-- 

Chris Kubica

[James Rovira]

Diego?

Jim

[D.]

Nope, I'm not Diego, but Don.

[Sundeep Dougal]

Yes, D, of course you are the D in question and am very glad to see you post back. I too thought of Tim and his labour of love, and Stephen Foskett, thanks to whom we all came to be together.

Rereading all of Salinger's published works in exact chronological order is such a perfect tribute.

I think I will go and read Franny and Zooey in his honour.

Today's NYT of course had an interesting insight: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/books/12salinger.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes
 
Sonny

[James Rovira]

Sorry about that :). Thanks for revealing your name, though. We did
have a Diego, though, didn't we?

Jim R

[Lucy Pearson]

We did have a Diego, I remember.

I'm not sure I really count as a true old-timer, but I landed on Tim's list in about 1999. It was the first online interaction I ever really had, and I remember stumbling on the list and coming away several hours later buzzing with excitement that there were people out there who loved what I loved and were getting together to talk about it. In the years since online fan groups of various kinds have become a major feature of my life.

I still miss the old group, and I too thought of Tim when I heard about Salinger's death. I cringe a little when I think of my teenaged ramblings still being out there on the old Bananafish archives, but I will always be grateful to the list for being so encouraging and tolerant. Will was kind enough to read a (terrible) undergraduate essay of mine on Salinger, and I got so much out of the discussions.

On topic - I too pronounce it Zoo - ee, I don't think I could ever switch to Zoh-ee now, even if there were some definitive proof for it.

Best,

Lucy

Lucy Pearson, Collaborative Doctoral Student: Newcastle University and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books
lucy.r....@googlemail.com