Local Bookshop Offers New Twist on Spelling Bees

In the 2002 documentary Spellbound, director Jeffrey Blitz follows eight young children training for the U.S. national spelling bee. The rigorous training process adopted by these spelling savants, or forced upon them by their parents, is seen as the cause of stress, eccentricities and ultimately (for all but one) a crushing feeling of defeat.

While this may be the new (slightly disturbing) norm of childhood spelling bees, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops and Houghton Mifflin (a major publishing company) have a different view for the future of these competitions. That's why on October 11, the two companies will host an adult spelling at Café Lulu in Bay View.

"The event gives the stodgy, elementary-school-kids-stiffly-asking-for-etymologies model a kick in the pants," Patrice Taddonio, a representative of Houghton Mifflin, said via e-mail.

The big draw to the event, which has plans to stop in six cities in its first month alone, is its host Steve Kleinedler, who was profiled in a New York Times article about an increase of "young, hip lexicographers."

And opposed to the stereotype of a lexicographer as a "graying, hunchbacked person scribbling in front of a drafting table," which Kleinedler noted as being untrue, he certainly is very hip.

Aside from being the senior editor of the American Heritage Dictionaries, Kleinedler is a graduate of the players' workshop at legendary comedy club Second City and currently directs the comedy troupe ImprovBoston. Additionally, he is the only known lexicographer with a phonetic vowel chart tattooed on his back.

Kleinedler hopes his improved skills will help make the spelling bee a unique experience.

"I know how to work a crowd, and I know how to keep things moving," Kleinedler said. "I'm not going to be up there doing a stand-up routine, but that being said I have a natural propensity for making people laugh."

He also sees the environment, which opposes the high pressure settings of youth spelling bees, as a draw to the public.

"The rules are the same [as youth spelling bees], the difference is it's more informal, more laid back," Kleinedler said. "The one in Milwaukee is held at a bar, I believe. It's kind of like how bars do trivia night, except instead of trivia it's a spelling bee."

The people at Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops are very excited about the spelling bee, and hope to host similar events in the future.

"More and more, publishers are offering these types of audience participation events," Nancy Quinn, a representative of the store said. "We think they are terrific… I think
it is going to be a lot of fun."

Those interested in participating can register the day of the event at Café Lulu (2265 S. Howell Ave.) at 7 p.m., one hour before the competition begins. The winner will receive the American Heritage Dictionary-4th Edition and all six books in Houghton Mifflin's 100 Words series (edited in part by Kleinedler), including the new "100 Words to Make You Sound Smart."