A WRITER’S DRINKS—AND DIAMONDS PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE OFFERED tidbits from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “A Short Biography,” framed by his beverages of choice. He cited the raw whiskey quaffed in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, a likely … Continue reading
A WRITER’S DRINKS—AND DIAMONDS PART 1
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD wholeheartedly took part in delights of the Jazz Age. Indeed, among other examples of this era between World War I and the Great Depression, he wrote about … Continue reading
HE, SHE, HIM, HER, THEY, THEM
UNLIKE MANY OF the world’s languages, English is relatively gender-independent. We don’t have the lady table, la table, at the gentleman cafe, le café. True, we have he/she and him/her … Continue reading
CELEBRATING YOGI-ISMS
YOGI BERRA WAS famed as a baseball catcher and also as a wordsmith of the highest order. He was an 18-time All Star and won 10 World Series championships as … Continue reading
ME AND THE SUITS
I’VE NEVER BEEN much of a corporate type. When I left Caribbean academic life for the real world in the mid-70s, Joe Gilbert, rest his soul, was general manager of … Continue reading
IS THERE AN ALCHEMIST IN THE HOUSE?
ALCHEMY WAS MORE than changing base metals into gold. Malcolm Gaskill reviews Jennifer M. Rambling’s The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700 in the London Review of Books, July 15, … Continue reading
THAT’S A PARAPROSDOKIAN TO ME!
THE WEBSITE Inspiring Quotes is entertaining. Plus, I learned a new word from it, “paraprosdokian.” The word has a Greek etymology: παρά, para, “against,” and προσδοκία, prosdokia, “expectation.” Inspiring Quotes, … Continue reading
WHERE’S NINA?
YOU WOULDN’T THINK that crow quill pens would be all that common, but in less than a week I’ve encountered a second famous artist who employed them. Theatrical caricaturist extraordinaire … Continue reading