Correspondence about “Treesong”

Reactions to the unveiling of “Treesong,” the new, superior way of rendering the works of Jack Vance in spoken English, have not been long in coming. Most are, not surprisingly, enthusiastic, such as that of P., a retired engineer in France, who writes:

I have listened to many, many hours of Treesong, and now, personally, have no difficulty making out a recognizable word here or there. Of course, I know the underlying texts by heart. But, rightly or wrongly, the decision has been made.

Similarly, R. says:

What kind of freak would refuse to buy an audiobook based only on how the text is spoken? As far as I am concerned any complaint about Treesong stems purely from personal, prejudiced hatred of its inventor. Besides, the decision has been made.

One or two responses are completely inexplicable. D., of Seattle, Washington, has this to say:

You are lying. You are a liar. What you say is all lies. You lying liar.

I was inspired to compose the following little poem, not quite a haiku, for the benefit of the (rare) detractors:

Poppely-poppely-poo!
Poo, poo, poo.
Puff!