Teaching our children, and some advice for writers. Suppose your child is eager to tackle a difficult subject–ancient Greek, for example–but you know his reach exceeds his grasp? The challenge is to support the child’s curiosity without squelching...
If you’re still hung up on the lay vs. lie rule, here’s a poem for you. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A Poem for Lay vs. Lie” Like, oh my God! Valley Girl! Like, totally! Valley Girl! Encino’s like so bitchin’. Valley Girl...
Did you know reading poetry improves your prose? That includes hip-hop lyrics, too. Also, how linguist can guess where you come from based on how you speak. What do you call someone who picks the chocolate out of the trail mix? Plus, champing at...
You’ve been reading a book but you’re just not into it. How do you quit it, guilt-free? How do you break up with a book? Also, what do you ask for when you go through the grocery checkout line: bag, sack, or something else? Plus, brung vs. brought...
Stan Carey has an excellent example of book spine poetry up on his site, this one titled “Antarctica.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Book Spine Poetry” We’ve talked on the show before about book spine poetry, you know, when you...
Gelett Burgess famously wrote I never saw a purple cow, but plenty of folks know a purple cow to be a grape soda float. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Purple Cows” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Julianne. Hi...
