As a humor writer, I try to write about everything. It’s basically all that I know how to do. But the thing about writing humor is that it sometimes makes me feel like I’m hiding behind a mask and pretending I’m something I’m not. Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m a person who loves to […]
The literary world is often accused of an obsession with youth, from multiple awards targeted at authors under 40 to publishers who hunt for new voices exclusively among young writers with a thriving – and instantly marketable – social media following. But all that is changing, experts say: older, unpublished writers are now at a […]
Anyone writing about the German novelist Thomas Mann faces the same problem that Mann himself often did. How do you write about a family with six children? How do you juggle the lives of Erika (b. 1905), Klaus (b. 1906), Golo (b. 1909), Monika (b. 1910), Elisabeth (b. 1918) and Michael (b. 1919)? It would […]
“Lezende jongen,” by Frans Hals Molly Young is on leave for the next several months. In her absence, colleagues from the Book Review will pick up the recommendation torch and appear in your inbox every two Saturdays. Dear readers, Every book lover is an autodidact at times; it goes with the territory. There are risks […]
A longtime university president and writing expert advises against banning the new AI bot — but to use it to teach more effective thinking that is purely human A Writer’s Resource, my co-authored college writing textbook, is about to be published in its seventh edition. While putting the finishing touches on the Instructor’s Manual, we […]
ADOLESCENCE, THAT alchemical torment, is a time to which few of us wish to return. We remember too well that maturity comes at a cost. And yet, stories of baptisms by fire are common and commonly loved. These coming-of-age tales have the narrative neatness of a hero’s journey — departure, risk, trial, disillusioned growth, and […]
This one time, my dad bought me a house in Providence, Rhode Island. It was a two-story fake Colonial with yellow aluminum siding on Hawkins Street. We bought it from the bank for $55,000; it was one of many properties under foreclosure in the city in 2009. Dad and I spent a few days looking […]
Just as pocket calculators, personal computers, and smartphones have posed threats to students learning math skills, AI (artificial intelligence) seems to be the new tool poised to undermine the use of writing assignments to assess student learning. In November 2022, a tool called ChatGPT made headlines for its ability to “write” any content. As an […]
Every so often, you find that you can’t think of a single thing to write about — that’s where I am right now. I figured I’d write about that. Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio. Every so often, I’d wager […]
Gaslighting is having a moment. It was the Merriam-Webster word of 2022, the title of a bestselling album by The Chicks, and the buzzy phenomenon that’s been in countless headlines. As described in the 2007 book The Gaslighting Effect, it’s a form of psychological harm in which abusers use lies and manipulation to make victims […]
