Author Archives: Boz

Everything Calm on the Occidental Battlefield: Or, Plagiarism 101

Posted on June 15, 2019 by Boz

What follows is a literary analysis I received at the end of the spring semester in one of my English 112 classes. My first clue that something was amiss was the title in the first sentence–and the fact that it … Continue reading →

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10,000 Steps (and Photos?)

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Boz

Almost three months have passed since I last posted here–by far the longest dry spell since I started writing in 2016. Not accidentally, this hiatus coincides with my newly rediscovered passion for fitness. Last May, my family doctor told me … Continue reading →

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“They Shall Not Grow Old”: See it if you can!

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Boz

For the Fallen By Laurence Binyon With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn … Continue reading →

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Fruition: 2018

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Boz

As I began to ponder the year soon coming to a close, it seemed necessary and fitting that I end the longest hiatus of my blog-writing career with a brief narration of the project–now complete–that has consumed my life for … Continue reading →

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The Mother of Beauty: World War I in Word, Image, and Song

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Boz

Published below is the text of a talk I will give tomorrow to commemorate the Armistice centenary as part of a series of events entitled “FTCC Remember World War I: 1914-1918.” “Death is the mother of beauty,” wrote Wallace Stevens, … Continue reading →

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One Doomed Youth–and 17 Million More

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Boz

From July to November 1917, Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was a shell-shocked second lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment, under the care of W. H. R. Rivers at Craiglockhart War Hospital. There, he became close friends with Siegfried Sassoon, who became … Continue reading →

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Sloganeering: Fake Language Is the Problem–Not Fake News

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Boz

I have not posted anything on my blog since September 21–over a month ago, my longest dry spell since I began it in May of 2016. Significantly, this hiatus coincides quite neatly with the weeks that have elapsed since the … Continue reading →

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Grammar, Meet God

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Boz

Although I care deeply about language and am passionately interested in its origins and characteristics, I have no claims as a linguist. Therefore, what follows comes more from my heart than my head–mostly emotion tempered with a bit of knowledge … Continue reading →

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My Brief Encounter with Erney Krongard

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Boz

Despite the apparent obscurity of this World War I-era postcard, the charm of its rough sketch of doughboys at the front and the accompanying doggerel prompted me to buy it from eBay along with others more charming still–and of much … Continue reading →

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Nothing’s Fair

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Boz

For more than two years, I have been immersed in a project designed to commemorate the centenary of World War I in my freshman composition classes and–this November–across the campus of the community college where I teach. I have already … Continue reading →

Posted in books, history, literature, love, World War I | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments