A Misused Word In A Book About Poet Gwendolyn Brooks

A few days ago I started reading A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life & Legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks by Angela Jackson (Beacon Press, 2017). It's an absorbing read. The prose style seems geared toward a young adult audience but it's a good place to introduce oneself to the life and work of Gwendolyn Brooks.

Having been a proofreader and a copy editor, I spotted a misused word on page 36. Ms. Jackson, a Chicago-based poet, playwright, and novelist, states that "The publication of A Street in Bronzeville would indicate that Gwendolyn had served a solid and extended apprenticeship in the pages of the Chicago Defender and other publications, but she had proven her meddle [italics mine] in the strenuous and continuous Inez Cunningham Stark workshop, the group of Visionaries. The workshop had edged her into an increased sophistication of intellect and technique, providing an environment of frank,constructive criticism and bold, new ideas."

The correct word should have been "mettle," not "meddle"---"...she had proven her mettle...." My Random House College Dictionary defines "meddle" as "to interest oneself in what is not one's concern: interfere without right or propriety." "Mettle" is defined as "staying  quality: STAMINA."

Somehow the copy editors and proofreaders at Beacon Press overlooked this error.