(In today’s column, I feature “A Christmas Memory,” a short story written by a fellow native Alabamian, the late Truman Capote. I first heard this story forty years ago. In December of 1977, Mr. Randal Simmons, my seventh-grade English teacher, read it to our class. Even then, I admired its simple and elegant beauty as […]
My Favorite Holiday Story: Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” Read More »
It’s that time of year again. During the holidays, we gather with family, friends, and pets. We hang out with folks we haven’t seen since last year, don sweaters that have inexplicably shrunk over the past eleven months, and eat and drink like we have no sense of propriety. The end of the calendar year
Have Yourself a Very Troubling Christmas Read More »
A few weeks ago, I made a remark to a co-worker about hearing a Christmas song in Lowe’s the day after Halloween. “You’re just a Christmas hater,” the person said. As I recall, my comment was innocent enough, something along the lines of “Hey, I heard a Christmas song in Lowe’s the day after Halloween,”
Holidays and the Impermanence of Perfect Things Read More »
I’ve never written a rhetorical analysis. Over the last decade of teaching composition at the community college level, a semester hasn’t passed without me assigning it to some poor group of souls, telling them, like they’re taking medicine, “You won’t like it, but it’s for your own good.” I lie. I’ll admit there is value
Orson Scott Card, known for his award-winning novel Ender’s Game, has achieved unusual notoriety for a bestselling author. While many readers praise Card’s writing ability, they sometimes struggle promoting his work since they disagree with his views on gay marriage. Gay rights activists have boycotted Card’s work on multiple occasions, successfully keeping a Superman story
Story First, Author Second: Drawbacks of Judging Literature By An Author’s Character Read More »
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite into space, named “Sputnik.” The 22.8 inch diameter steel sphere weighed 183.9 pounds and was engineered to be seen by the naked eye up to 175 miles in the sky. Its 21 day radio emitted signal reminded Americans of the failed attempts to
BSCS: An Essential Element of American Science Read More »