by So Mayer
published 13 November
There is no such thing as a safe word
In Bad Language, So Mayer blends memoir and manifesto as they explore the politics of speech, while looking at how language has been used – and abused – in their own life. What is the relationship between language and sexual violence? And how can we ‘make ourselves up’ in language when words themselves are encoded by a dominant culture that insists we see ourselves as powerless listeners rather than active speakers?
Examining the semantic traps of their multi-lingual childhood – and taking in texts from the Torah to Grimms’ Fairytales, from protest bust cards to the works of Ursula K. Le Guin – Mayer asks who gets to speak, and who is forced into silence. Bad Language calls out the harm that words can do, while searching for crafty ways through which we can collectively reclaim language for protest and pleasure.
SO MAYER is a writer, editor, bookseller and organiser. Truth & Dare, their first collection of speculative fiction, was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness and Edge Hill Short Story prizes. With Sarah Shin, they co-edited Ursula K. Le Guin, Space Crone, winner of the 2024 Locus Award for non-fiction. Bad Language is their second book for Peninsula, after A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing.
Praise for So Mayer
‘Mayer’s writing is generous, astute and sincere; in Bad Language, they choose their words carefully, using incantation and spell to distil a complex argument – the transformative power of language lay in its ability to shape sense perception. For Mayer, the task of ‘making ourselves up’ is another way of asking, what kind of world do we want to live in?’ – Lola Olufemi
‘Both deeply personal and politically astute, Bad Language is essential reading for those interested in the limits and possibilities of language. To read So Mayer's work is to feel your mind expanding. Mayer's words are a gift and a gateway to new understandings of our world and the language that shapes us.’ – Elizabeth Lovatt
‘In Bad Language, So Mayer has mixed fascinating etymologies with deep cultural-political analysis and devastating personal stories. Remarkably they achieve all this with compassion and puns. With expansive range, Mayer pulls together sources and makes surprising links. This book is like a communal exercise; after all, language could be the one thing that us humans make together. Our words are everywhere, but we barely see them – Mayer illuminates them, spotlight by spotlight, until a whole arena is lit and revealed. bad language is a deeply thoughtful piece of work, made with love and horror, and a guidebook for our time.’ – Adam Zmith