Author Archives: Kathy

The Movie’s as Good as the Book! (And Vice Versa!)

Self-described grammar nerd Ellen Jovin came to town last week with her husband, Brandt Johnson, and their film Rebel with a Clause. A large, appreciative audience at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque enjoyed the movie and the Q & … Continue reading

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Sym and Em

Yiyun Li’s recent memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, made it onto my book group’s (I should say, “one of my book groups’ lists”) 2025-2026 reading list, and I’ve been thinking about it in respect to a request to discuss … Continue reading

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If Doggies Could Write

I learned recently that the GED test has dropped its poetry section, which used to be included in the reading portion, called Reasoning Through Language Arts. Which reminds me that my parents were amused, back in the sixties, at the … Continue reading

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Success!

I’m very happy to report that the young man I called Andre (see previous post) has earned his GED by passing the science portion of the test. No doubt his success was due to my facility with the work-energy theorem … Continue reading

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Laws of Motion

To protect his privacy, I’ll call him Andre and just say that he hails from a French-speaking African country. I’d guess that Andre is in his mid to late twenties. Last month, I worked with Andre in the GED tutoring … Continue reading

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Whose Right Is It, Anyway?

The weeds are my sweet spot, etymologically speaking, and so we’re wading in. The subject is a constitutional principle that came up in the news today. In a Senate hearing, Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security in the Trump … Continue reading

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Fan Mail, Reversed

Circa September, 1976, I received an astonishing postcard in the mail. Its handwriting was unfamiliar, the postmark said “Bellingham, Washington,” and it was signed, apparently, by Annie Dillard, my favorite writer. Or certainly one of the top five. I knew … Continue reading

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Arabic Words in the News!

The English word tariff dates from the late sixteenth century. It referred to an arithmetical table or an official list of custom duties and derived from the Italian tariffa, meaning “a price or assessment.” That word came from the Latin … Continue reading

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Albatross Around Our Neck

Who knew Alcatraz, the former prison in the San Francisco Bay, would be in the news, like so many other improbable and repellent items entering our consciousnesses these days? Alcatraz, at least, has two (nearly) redeeming features: one, the name … Continue reading

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Telling a True Story

Tricia Springstubb’s new novel tells a true story, only in fictional disguise. Her heroine Amber, a sixth grader, is smart but ordinary, cute but not gorgeous, and quietly funny. She has two best friends. Lottie is brainy, and Mariah is … Continue reading

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