[KS] Apologies to Keith Howard/Thanks to Richard C. Miller
DGibson357 at aol.com
DGibson357 at aol.com
Thu Sep 21 10:17:06 EDT 2000
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At my old age, I am becoming a master at turning things backward. I cannot
believe that I addressed Keith Howard as Howard Keith. Some sort of
psychological slip seems to be in operation here. Since Mr. Howard is a
Korean specialist, I must have decided that he put his surname first,
followed by his given name. It was compounded by the fact that more
frequently than not, "Howard" is a given name. My sincere apologies for this
mistake. During my residency in America, since 1962, I cannot count how many
times people have murdered my name. So how could I?
Now the more pleasant task of thanking Richard C. Miller for his kind email
in which he set me straight about, "Jakarta, then known as Batavia." Because
Mr. Howard calls this a spelling mistake, I was obsessed with the spelling.
Mr. Miller pointed out the crux of the matter. "The spelling is correct but
the order is backwards." As Mr. Miller writes, it should have been "Batavia,
now known as Jakarta." He kindly writes that this is the kind of mistake
that the publisher (editor) should have corrected but it was MY mistake. It
is appalling how once you write down some information, you can't see an
elementary mistake. I feel ashamed.
I am often considered "a stubborn, if lovable, old bitch," but I am open to
helpful suggestions and corrections. Further, I'm reasonably good at
admitting my guilt/mistakes. If you find additional mistakes in my book,
please let me know. I will correct them in the next printing. In the
meantime, the women's stories are still good.
Dai Sil Kim-Gibson
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