Words are harbingers, messengers of our time. They come into the world one way, and as the world turns, they evolve. It strikes me that this year of challenge and change makes for the perfect moment to renew our words. Agree? Then come aboard! Each week on A Word, Please, we’ll be turning a new word around—how it began, how we’re using it now. Some weeks I’ll invite guests, or I’ll read a passage from something I’m working on, or a poem or page that I think will inspire us.
The opening lines of Joan Didion's classic essay "GOOD-BYE TO ALL THAT"
HUMILITY
PRIDE
LUDDITE
the green of VERT
the WHELM in OVERWHELM
FOSTER
POIGNANT
STRESS
RESPITE
GASLIGHT
GENEROSITY
A Passage from Tolstoy's ANNA KARENINA
STANZA
RESILIENCE
The opening lines of SULA
DICHOTOMY vs PARADOX
LOVE
The opening lines of THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD
JUSTICE
CLICHÉ
The opening lines of Louise Erdrich's LOVE MEDICINE
GOOD
AMPLIFY
CUMMARI
VOTE!
BIAS
The opening lines of Virginia Woolf's A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN
DEADLINE with Sarah Balakrishnan
BROADCAST
The opening lines of Toni Morrison's BELOVED
