John Suder

It must rank as one of the most imaginative cover letters ever written. Robert Pirosh quit his job as a copy editor in NY to look for work as a Hollywood screenwriter in 1934. He sent the following letter to studio executives and producers, “I like words. I like fat, buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, words, such as straightlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory.” While his letter elaborated his affection for words, you catch the drift. He concluded, “I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a NY advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood but before taking the plunge, I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around. I have just returned, and I still like words. May I have a few with you?” He secured three interviews, landed a job as a screenwriter, and 15 years later received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The Book of Common Prayer has been a treasure trove of words of time-honored prayers. Thomas Cranmer compiled the first edition in 1549, which was later edited in 1662. It has served as a prayer and worship handbook for the Church of England for the past 350+ years. Some phrases in the 1662 edition are still in use: “land of the living…till death do us part…weigh the merits…the upper hand…a tower of strength…all my worldly goods…give up for lost…at their wits’ end…softer than butter.” John Walter Suter (1859-1942) described his chief calling with the words, “devotional liturgist.” While he was a priest for Massachusetts Episcopal churches in his early life, he dedicated his later years to updating the Book of Common Prayer and writing A Book of Collects in Two Parts of daily prayers with his son in 1919. One such prayer is titled “for inward calm:”