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Author Archives: Boz
Erasing History: A Reconsideration
“In February 1948, the Communist leader Klement Gottwald stepped out on to the balcony of a Baroque palace in Prague to harangue hundreds of thousands of citizens massed in Old Town Square. That was the great turning point in the … Continue reading
Posted in education, history, language, literature, politics
Tagged education, First Amendment, history, identity, politics
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Truth, Lies, and Postmodern Possibilities: “Frantz” in Context
Seven years after the Armistice of 1918, Paris-born playwright Maurice Rostand published a three-act play, L’homme qui j’ai tué (The Man I Killed), about a Frenchman seeking forgiveness for killing a German soldier in the trenches of the Great War. Seven years later, Berlin-born … Continue reading
My Second-to-Last Conversation with My Father
Yes, I know the word penultimate. Yes, I have known since reading Strunk and White that one word is always better than three, even when the three are hyphenated. But I received my inspiration for this … Continue reading
Reading, Watching–and Smelling–World War I
More than a year ago, I decided to observe the centenary of World War I by using it as the theme of my English composition classes devoted to writing across the curriculum. To that end, I have immersed myself in a wide assortment of … Continue reading
Posted in books, history, literature, movies, World War I
Tagged history, movies, novels, World War I
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Nunie: Words, Pictures–and Music
Since Just(e) Words made its debut more than a year ago, I have shared in its virtual pages my memories of several formative individuals–including a three-post, 5,000-word homage to my mentor at the University of Arizona. I have also noted more than … Continue reading
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I Never Saw a Moor; I Never Saw the Sea
I never even had a passport. But I know the heather because I have walked the moonlit moors with Catherine and Heathcliff. I know the roiling sea because I sailed on the Pequod and clung … Continue reading
Being Martha/Being Peter: The Other Lesson of Maundy Thursday
In November of 1997, I attended North Carolina Episcopal Cursillo, a short course in Christian living modeled after a movement that began in Spain in 1944 to train lay leaders in the Roman Catholic Church. The three-day spiritual pilgrimage alters … Continue reading
Metatext: Memories in the Margins
Two weeks ago, on March 18, I saw The Sense of an Ending on the second day of its run at the Cameo Art House Theater in Fayetteville. In 2011–specifically, “Thanksgiving 2011, Lake Mattamuskeet” according to my notation on the flyleaf–I read … Continue reading
Posted in books, friendship, history, language, memories, movies
Tagged coming of age, connection, friendship, history, identity, language, memory
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