Loaded Words

Sticks and Stones

Sticks and stones will break my bones But words will never harm me. This well-known ditty was first published in 1862 in the African Methodist Episcopal Church journal, The Christian Recorder. It’s purpose was to empower children in the face of name calling, to help them keep their good nature and resist retaliation. I’m notContinue reading “Sticks and Stones”

Words Matter

“We live in an era that is reliant on words, but our words are no longer reliable.” So it says in the opening chapter of Loaded Words, setting the foundation for the book itself. How can we know what anyone means when they choose to use a certain word? Are they choosing it for clarity? Manipulation?Continue reading “Words Matter”

People often asked me what I was going to do with my MA in Theology. I told them I had no idea but that, at the very least, it would give me new tools to use in my writing. Has it ever. Today as I launch the first book that I’ve co-written with my icktankContinue reading “Loaded Words”

Thank you, John Patrick Shanley

I find inspiration in many unlikely places. This morning on Facebook there was a quote by the playwright John Patrick Shanley. It was posted by an actress who is deeply committed to teaching theater in New York. I met her this year at a reading: she brought a wonderful short, short story and I readContinue reading “Thank you, John Patrick Shanley”