Talk Magazine Names Harvard Profs West, Gomes "Big Mouths"

In an article entitled "50 Big Mouths We Hope Will Never Shut Up", Talk Magazine named Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West '74 and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Reverend in Memorial Church Peter J. Gomes two of the "Best Talkers in America."

"We canvassed a wide range of people in different fields, acquiring an enormous list of their nominees for best living scripted, or who have their own shows--and pored through speeches of most American talkers," wrote Hillary Bass, a spokesperson for Talk Magazine, in an e-mail message.

According to Bass, the list members were chosen on the basis of eloquence and style.

"We wanted to be sure we found an eloquent group that also represented a range of talkers, meaning people who were good at different styles of speech-sermons, comebacks, flights of invective, dressing-downs, eulogies, and soundbytes," she wrote.

Gomes and West are perennial draws at University panels and classes, and students of the two scholars said the selections confirm the professors' University reputations.

"It is indeed a well-known fact that Cornel West is one of the best communicators on earth," said April Yvonne Garrett, a former student. "As a student, I always felt like my brain was being fed the finest information in the universe. I was always amazed that he could communicate the most difficult concepts so that the average person could understand them and apply them," she said.

Bass said the magazine did not deliberately favor Harvard professors.

"As for Harvard, it's just chance," she wrote. "We showed no partiality to Harvard, but in the Reverend Peter Gomes and Professor Cornel West, Harvard is to be commended. They were two choices about which...there was nearly complete consensus."

Also chosen were former first lady Barbara Bush, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

Bass said that it was difficult to decide which talkers were the most deserving of the award.

"We ended up with a partial and imperfect list, but in the end, these are the voices we love to hear," she wrote.

Neither West nor Gomes could be reached for comment this week.