...Suffice it to say—another cliché—that my fellow writers and myself—who were invited to write blurbs for Joe Carillo’s three books—...
Joe,
Surely he meant to say "my fellow writers and I"......?
Although certain usages of “myself” continue to be disputed by the prescriptivists and descriptivists, I think John Nery’s usage of “myself” in his sentence is grammatically airtight. Here’s what my digital
Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary has to say about the word and its usage:
Main Entry:
myselfFunction: pronoun
Date: before 12th century
1 : that identical one that is I — used reflexively <I'm going to get
myself a new suit>, for emphasis <I
myself will go>, or in absolute constructions <
myself a tourist, I nevertheless avoided other tourists>
2 : my normal, healthy, or sane condition <didn't feel
myself yesterday>
usage Myself is often used where
I or
me might be expected: as subject <to wonder what
myself will say — Emily Dickinson> <others and
myself continued to press for the legislation>, after as, than, or like <an aversion to paying such people as
myself to tutor> <was enough to make a better man than
myself quail> <old-timers like
myself>, and as object <now here you see
myself with the diver> <for my wife and
myself it was a happy time.>. Such uses almost always occur when the speaker or writer is referring to himself or herself as an object of discourse rather than as a participant in discourse. The other reflexive personal pronouns are similarly but less frequently used in the same circumstances.
Critics have frowned on these uses since about the turn of the century, probably unaware that they serve a definite purpose. Users themselves are as unaware as the critics—they simply follow their instincts. These uses are standard. [Boldfacing mine]
The
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, which bills itself as the complete guide to problems of confused or disputed usage, cites several other usages of “myself” like John Nery’s by leading authors over the centuries, among them Samuel Johnson, Charles Lamb, Samuel Butler, Robert Frost, Kingsley Amis, and Henry James.
You can check out these citations by clicking this link to Google Books.Of course, the position of
Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary and that of
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage are what we might consider as the descriptivist position about the usage of “myself” and the other reflexive pronouns. The prescriptivist position, on the other hand, is taken by
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, which makes the following usage note about “myself”:
USAGE NOTE The
–self pronouns, such as
myself,
yourselves, and
herself, are sometimes used as emphatic substitutes for personal pronouns, as in
Like yourself, I have no apologies to make. The practice is particularly common in compound phrases:
Ms. Evans or yourself will have to pick them up at the airport. Although these usages have been common in the writing of reputable authors for several centuries, they may sound overwrought. [Boldfacing mine] A large majority of the Usage Panel disapproves of the use of
–self pronouns when they do not refer to the subject of the sentence. Seventy-three percent reject the sentence
He was an enthusiastic fisherman like myself. Sixty-seven percent object to
The letters were written entirely by myself. The Panel is even less tolerant of compound usages. Eighty-eight percent find this sentence unacceptable:
The boss asked John and myself to give a brief presentation.The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar takes a position about the usage of “myself” similar to that of
The American Heritage Dictionary. It says:
myself“1. (n. & adj.) (A pronoun) that refers back to the subject of the same clause.
”The
reflexive pronouns end in
-self or
-selves (e.g.
myself,
themselves).
”A reflexive pronoun is not usually considered acceptable as a subject in standard English (e.g.*
James and myself intend to help ) but can be used as emphatic reinforcement (e.g.
I myself believe that he's telling the truth , despite what the others say ).”
The
Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style by Bryan A. Garner also takes the same prescriptivist position,
which you can read by clicking this link to Google Books.
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So here we are, still faced by the long-running dispute between the English-language descriptivists and prescriptivists. On the whole, though, I would suggest that we should not allow ourselves to suffer paralysis by analysis and should just trust our own instincts when using “myself.” And in this particular instance, all things considered, I must say that I trust John Nery’s, totally and unconditionally.
