I’m currently reading Jhumpha Lahiri’s book In Other Words which is in fact her journey into learning another language- in this case Italian. The book resonates with me because I also feel so thrilled when I feel the word in my bones, feel it bouncing off my tongue, and feel understood by a native speaker. I taught myself a decent amount of Greek, and would thrill at the sounds...
Read MoreA Cruelty Special to our Species Emily Yoon, my former student and author of A Cruelty Special to our Species paid me a visit Friday evening after doing a reading and workshop at SMUS, her former school. Her poetry addresses a topic rarely discussed- The occupation of Korea and abuse of women. Her poetry is lucid and strong, describing atrocities which are never openly touched upon. I’m so...
Read MoreI have just written a proposal to the Oxford Dictionary committee that the word e (pronounced E) be created as a gender neutral third person singular pronoun. English would have he/ she / e / to describe trans-gendered people who do not identify strongly with either male or female traits. I met a store clerk the other day who was wearing the same blue nail polish as I was. I had blue toes and...
Read MoreLost and Found is an enchanting novel by the brilliant Australian/ universally cultured author Brooke Davis. In this novel, the protagonist, Milly Bird, is abandoned by her mother in a clothing department. She is found by an octogenerian, Karl the touch typist, who has run away from his nursing home, and the bereaved Agatha Pantha. The novel’s main appeal is its sincere understanding of...
Read MoreAfter 25 years of teaching, I still love my job. My clients reveal the strange irregularities of English grammar which keep it fascinating. This week, my Iranian engineer wrote a question using the verb to be. We all know that the verb to be conjugates as follows: I am, you are, he is, we are , you are, and they are, for it is an amalgamation from two verbs in Old English. My student wrote...
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