Charles Morton

Charles Walton Morton Jr. (1899–1967) was a writer and journalist. Morton served as the associate editor of The Atlantic Monthly for 26 years (1941–1967). He also wrote several books about publishing, relationships, and other subjects. During his career, Morton achieved notoriety as one of the most noted humorists in the U.S.

Early life and education

Morton was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on February 10, 1899. He graduated from Morristown School in Morristown, New Jersey (now Morristown-Beard School) in 1916. During his time at the school, Morton served as an editor of The Morristonian, the school newspaper. After high school, Morton attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, for two years. He then worked in his father's hardware company. Morton also worked as a rancher at the Pitchfork Ranch near the Greybull River in northwestern Wyoming. In 1948, The Atlantic elected Morton to their board of directors. Morton coined the term to characterize writing styles that use inelegant variants for second reference of a word. The phrase "elongated, yellow fruit" relates to a second reference for bananas. In his book A Slight Sense of Outrage, Morton states that this type of faulty usage "lies somewhere between the cliché and the 'fine writing' so dreaded by teachers of English composition. ... It does bespeak an author who wishes to sound witty, knowledgeable, and versatile. ... It can also bespeak an author who is merely pompous."

Garner's Modern American Usage describes several examples of Morton's labeling of writing as "the elongated yellow-fruit school of writing":

Elongated yellow fruit (banana) The numbered spheroids (billiard balls) The azure-whiskered (the fairy tale character Bluebeard) Hen-fruit safari (Easter egg hunt) Lacteal fluid (milk) Succulent bivalves (oysters) The succulent goober (peanut) Rubber-tired mastodon of the highway (truck)

Family

Morton married Mildred Wadleigh Penick. They had two children, Patricia (deceased) and Cynthia.

Works Dahl's Boston (1946) Dahl's Brave New World (1947) Frankly, George Or Letters to a Publisher From An Author Whose First Book Is About To Appear (1951) How To Protect Yourself Against Women – And Other Vicissitudes (1951) A Slight Sense of Outrage (1955) It Has Its Charms (1966)