“Henry W. Fowler believed he knew how sentences should read—and his judgments have shaped The New Yorker’s style for a century.”
English
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Humanities Aren’t Dead Yet
“Enrollment in the liberal arts has been in freefall for years. But despite apocalyptic declarations about the end of the humanities, in my own classroom I see signs of life.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Feeling in Farsi, Writing in English: On Translating Your Life From One Language to Another
“Sahar Delijani navigates the complexity of conjuring her old life in a new language.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Typos, Tricks and Misprints
“Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology.”
Posted inBooks, Crime, Current Events, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quotes, Writing
‘Can You Imagine How That Felt?’: Blake Bailey’s Predations, As Told By His Students
The inside story of author Blake Bailey’s grooming of middle-school girls.
Posted inArts & Culture, Essays & Criticism, Highlight, Quote Posts, Quotes
As Impossible and Imperfect as Translation
“But poetry…has helped me to find new meaning within and across linguistic boundaries.”
Posted inNonfiction
The Psychiatrist in My Writing Class and His ‘Gift’ of Hate
Rani Neutill recalls a literary workshop in which a white man critiqued her ability to write in “proper” English.
Posted inNonfiction
Lengua Tacos
Feliz Moreno searches for an answer to the frequently asked question ‘Do you speak Spanish?’ during a trip to Mexico.