But it certainly got everyone's attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe.
'If you didn't find it funny, you may want to seek medical attention,' wrote one critic.
He quickly garnered attention, writing commentaries for The Huffington Post and being named a "rising star" by the Web site Musical America.
"You will find much on Anglesey which is worthy of your attention," wrote Gerald of Wales in 1188, before crazy golf and Mister Whippy were invented.
On the outskirts of Ozersk, there is an oversized "no trespassing" sign in English and Russian, with "Attention!!!" written in large red letters to emphasise the point.
It was the first symphony by an American woman composer to gain public attention, written at a time when American composers of either gender were a relative rarity on the international scene.
He initially brushed off the attention, writing on his blog that it was a product of "political correctness to the absurd" and adding, "There is not a prejudiced bone in my body".
Two of his reports on schools abroad were reprinted as books, and his annual reports on schools at home attracted wide attention, written, as they were, in Arnold's own urbane and civilized prose.
He drew attention writing about prevailing library practices in Library Quarterly and making a presentation at the 1939 annual meeting of the American Library Association, where he laid out his ideas for improvement.
My English teacher in junior high, who did know and who was probably saying to herself, "Look at this freaky kid, desperate for attention," wrote in my yearbook: "It was great having you in English class.
