The Modern Logographer

Isocrates was always quite coy about his past as a logographer, a profession that we now know as speechwriter. This should not be surprising to us, if we recall the scorn with which Plato and other so-called philosophers looked upon the need to work for a living. Intellectualism, techne, and wisdom, according to them, were attainable only by freeing onself from the menial labors of day-to-day life. We have witnessed this firsthand through Plato’s treatment of Lysias, a logographer who made a living out of writing speeches, in the Phaedrus. Isocrates, through his silent acknowledgment, appears to agree with this sentiment.

In modernity, the tables have turned. We now look upon the unemployed with suspicion and speak spitefully about those who are “just looking for handouts”. What else would we deem those that are voluntarily, adamantly umemployed, but the very dregs of society? Such a dramatic shift in societal opinion is likely derived from various workers revolutions and union movements. In a rare departure from the Isocratean, I am grateful for it. We are of this world, after all, and in the grand scheme of things it was not so long that our ancestors could do little more than survive on a day-to-day basis. Their triumphs cemented our continued existence; there is no need to belittle their endeavors.

A slight distinction between logographers and speechwriters can be made in the context of their employment. Most speeches in Isocrates’ day were composed on the behalf of clients in the courts and the legal arena who could not speak nearly as well without the help. Such roles have been formalized today into other professions, and in America they are known as prosecutors and defense attorneys. Politics is now the arena that most modern speechwriters display their wares. I may be exaggerating slightly, but I don’t think most people will take issue if I say that behind every relevant politician is a speechwriter or two.

It may be very interesting to contrast the life of a modern speechwriter to that of a logographer in Isocrates’ era, during which the occupation of speechwriting on behalf of another essentially began. For politicians of this day, it no longer seems sustainable to request the services of a writer on a speech-by-speech basis, but rather the norm is to retain a team on permanent employ. In recent memory, it could be said that U.S. President Barack Obama has been one of the more inspiring orators in the political arena. Let us then examine the responsibilities of his speechwriting team, which is headed by a man named John Favreau.

Favreau himself was rather young – merely 23 – when he began work for then-Senator Obama, but his accomplishments with speech and the theory of writing was already reminiscent of Cicero’s own youth. He described his political theory of writing as the following:

“A speech can broaden the circle of people who care about this stuff. How do you say to the average person that’s been hurting: ‘I hear you. I’m there. Even though you’ve been so disappointed and cynical about politics in the past, and with good reason, we can move in the right direction. Just give me a chance.’” ^[1]

This attitude is certainly a departure from the aim of logography, transitioning from the need to win tit-for-tat exchanges between clients to the desire for inclusion and inspiration in politics. Furthermore, logography was largely recognized as the field that helped the most frigid and uneducated of speakers to appear eloquent and competent. In modern speechwriting, helping the client to become a better speaker is not the only concern. An even clearer mark of a successful speechwriter regards the ability to make a client, while delivering the speech, sound like it originated from his or her very own pen. In the words of Christopher Buckley, a speechwriter for President Bush,

“The trick of speechwriting, if you will, is making the client say your brilliant words while somehow managing to make it sound as though they issued straight from their own soul.” ^[2]

It is said that Favreau had mastered President Obama’s voice by reading almost everything he wrote as a senator and channeling those ideas and phrases. Favreau had become so adept at this that he admitted it would be difficult to write in his voice own again.