“ . . . [W]e continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more ‘drive,’ or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or ‘creativity.’ In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. […]
A while back, in my rhetoric class, my students and I finished studying a number of short stories to look at persuasion’s role in fiction. Among the stories, “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne evoked the most rewarding discussion (maybe the year’s best). At first it didn’t look like this would be the case. A number
This post is presented by our friends over at Story Warren. Family tradition says my dad’s youngest sister once believed she could fly. To prove it, she climbed the stairs and leapt from the top. Predictably, she flew only a little way (mostly down), and rolled the rest of the way. Hilariously (according to her
