Tag Archives: language

50 Years Ago: My 15 Minutes on the Front Page

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Boz
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Metatext: Memories in the Margins

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Boz

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 →

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Letters from Margaret

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Boz

It was the spring of 1976. I was 23, smart, fierce, on everybody’s most-likely-to succeed list. But as my undergraduate mentor had predicted, I was still a babe in the woods, having wandered 2,059 miles from the sheltering mountains of my childhood … Continue reading →

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Biology, Destiny, and the Politics of Dys-

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Boz

I am aware that when Freud pronounced his now-vilified dictum of biological determinism, “anatomy is destiny,” he was referring specifically to sexuality, which is not my subject here–at least not my only subject. However, because I like to be well … Continue reading →

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Hope Is a Thing

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Boz

Twenty years ago today, so the legend goes, the hopeless step-grandmother of a wild child saw a red sign on a gray door: “Enter Here in Peace.” Though the parlous state of her soul belied the mode of entry, she took … Continue reading →

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E Plebnista: A Sardonic Meditation on American Greatness

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Boz

Twenty long days have passed since I last put thoughts to words and words to (virtual) paper. I have not written about the gleeful euphoria with which I anticipated the election of 2016, the exquisite pain with which I learned of … Continue reading →

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Sticks, Stones, and Mayhem in the Marketplace of Ideas

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Boz

In a lifetime of writing, I have spent many grueling hours perfecting the art of the compelling introduction–to say nothing of the time spent crafting clever and thought-provoking titles. For my current topic, however, I am afraid that I have … Continue reading →

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A Napple, a Norange–and a Numpire

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Boz

In the third grade, we guffawed about Little Johnny, who left out the P when reciting the alphabet because it was running down his leg. Those of us with more highbrow tastes in humor also found amusing his further adventures: … Continue reading →

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Shared Experience, Shared Language: A Review of Lakoff and Johnson on Metaphor

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Boz

Each of my efforts to write about George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By uncannily comprises a demonstration of its thesis. As I started to plan my review, I wrote, I am late to the dance—referring to the … Continue reading →

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It Quacks Like a Duck

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Boz

I have learned many important lessons since beginning this blog three months ago, and I have relearned many others. Already this morning, I have experienced one of each (in reverse order): I know a minuscule amount; and Amazon Prime is … Continue reading →

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