For many of us, religious liturgy provides the words we need for life’s major milestones. But what if you don’t ascribe to any particular religion? In her uplifting new book, The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives (Bookshop|Amazon), historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht suggests turning to poetry. The book features many poems and poetic styles, such as Chinese classical poetry and the Arabic ghazal, and a short poem by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe that will take your breath away. This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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