Ernest Hemingway once said that he looked at words as if he were seeing them for the very first time. Since new words emerge constantly he was, at least part of the time, literally correct. Lexicographers at the Oxford English Dictionary add a certain number of new words and phrases to their already enormous … Continue reading OMG, LOL and BFT in the OED; wassup?
If you’re feeling uncomfortable it’s because you’ve got a book in you
It wasn’t a dark and stormy night. It was a hot, still night. I was sitting in an upper level English literature class halfway listening to an old professor who spent the entire hour and a half every Tuesday and Thursday leaning on a lectern casting his pearls of wisdom in a sluggish, low monotone … Continue reading If you’re feeling uncomfortable it’s because you’ve got a book in you
Gatsby Redux
I’m betting this has happened to you. You’ve read a book that you enjoyed very much and you learn that a movie version is in the works. Part of you hopes that the story you loved will transfer well to film, but another part, the part that has been disappointed many times, expects it to … Continue reading Gatsby Redux
Captions
I’m off to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Texas, today to select photographs and illustrations from their vast archive for a book I recently finished writing about the General that will be published next year. Then I’ll have to perform a tricky chore that I never anticipated when I penned my first … Continue reading Captions
Handwritten Letters R.I.P.
Have you gotten a letter lately? Not an email. Or a text message. Not a note scribbled out by someone in a hurry. Or even a formal business letter, which was more than likely signed by a computer. I’m talking about a personal, handwritten letter, with a salutation, a proper closing, and an actual … Continue reading Handwritten Letters R.I.P.
Quick Reads, Deep Thoughts, and Various Viewpoints
You’d think that a guy who teaches high school English wouldn’t be interested in reading any more essays than the ones he has to grade. But I guess I’m an odd duck when it comes to this unique literary genre. Because at any given time there are at least a couple of published collections of essays lying … Continue reading Quick Reads, Deep Thoughts, and Various Viewpoints
Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
Recent tragic world events have got me wondering if that old axiom has any truth in it. I get as angry as anybody else when terrorism lifts its ugly head, and want to bring out the bombs and missiles. Certainly bombs and missiles have their place, and sometimes they need to do what they do. I … Continue reading Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
What are you reading?
I usually keep three reads going at a time. Currently those books are the hefty biography of Alexander Hamilton that the Broadway play is based on, the newest Daniel Silva novel (The Black Widow) about the Israeli secret agent Gabriel Allon (my absolute favorite espionage series for many years now), and Our Souls at Night, a beautiful little novel by Plainsong author Kent … Continue reading What are you reading?
A comma here, a comma there, and chaos everywhere
There’s a poster on the wall in my classroom that has two phrases on it: “Dog eating chicken” and “Dog, eating chicken.” My perpetual hope is that the students in my Creative Writing and Senior English classes will pay some attention to it. And that, consequently, they’ll make a better effort to use commas correctly … Continue reading A comma here, a comma there, and chaos everywhere
Ron Rozelle Wordsmith 