Codifying What Counts as a Word in Scrabble
Alfred M. Butts first created a word game called Lexico (or Lexiko) for his family in 1931. His business partner renamed it Scrabble.
The Truth About Sherlock Holmes: He’s Actually Henry David Thoreau
A tongue in cheek comparison between the British fictional sleuth and the American Transcendentalist author, just because.
Is Don Quixote to Blame for Modern Movie Reboots?
The culture industry has long repackaged content from the past for the present. Just look at Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote.
6 Tips about Academic Writing for #AcWriMo
November is Academic Writing Month. We’ve gathered six helpful tips for your scholarly writing—with academic citations of course.
From the Mixed-Up History of Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
Language can reveal power dynamics, as in the terms of address, or honorifics, are used to refer to a woman's social status: Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
The Dangers of Gone With The Wind‘s Romantic Vision of the Old South
Writer Margaret Mitchell was born on November 8th, 1900, at the beginning of a new century. Her novel Gone ...
Ralph Ellison on Race
Ralph Ellison believed fiercely in the American project and in the centrality of black people to it.
7 Pieces of Expert Writing Advice
Great fiction-writing advice and commiseration from novelists that we dug out of the JSTOR vaults for you procrastinating, er, research pleasure.
The Man Whose Snowy Day Helped Diversify Children’s Books
Jack Ezra Keats's 1962 book The Snowy Day featured an African-American protagonist, a first for a full-color children’s book.
The Origins of Human Speech: More Like a Raven or a Writing Desk?
Language is the cognitive faculty that separates humans from other animals, but interjections have often been equated with the primitive cries of animals.