I received The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda (Copper Canyon Press, 2001) for Christmas and started reading this slim volume right away. Here is the summary from the publisher:In The Book of Questions, Neruda refuses to be corralled by the rational mind. Composed of 316 unanswerable questions, these poems integrate the wonder of a … Continue reading On My Bookshelf: The Book of Questions
word love
First Footing: How We Burn
My story "How We Burn" is up today over at Necessary Fiction. "First Footing" is January's theme for the Writer in Residence feature on the site. Contributors were invited to take the last line of an established story and use it as the jumping off point for a new work. My story is inspired by … Continue reading First Footing: How We Burn
wordy wednesday: lugubrious
lu·gu·bri·ousPronunciation:\lu̇-ˈgü-brē-əs also -ˈgyü-\Function: adjectiveEtymology: Latin lugubris, from lugēre to mourn; akin to Greek lygros mournfulDate: 15851: mournful ; especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful2: dismalSource: Merriam Webster's Online DictionaryI'm in love with this word right now - it is a real beauty. Also, I am not too proud to admit that when I first encountered … Continue reading wordy wednesday: lugubrious
wordy wednesday: repose
repose- function: noun Text: 1 a natural periodic loss of consciousness during which the body restores itselfrepose, is served lunch, and then embarks on an exhaustive afternoon of shopping>— see sleep 1 2 a state of freedom from storm or disturbancerepose of a serene summer evening>— see calm 3 freedom from activity or laborrepose for … Continue reading wordy wednesday: repose
wordy wednesday: plethora
Main Entry:pleth·o·ra Pronunciation: \ˈple-thə-rə\ Function:noun Etymology:Medieval Latin, from Greek plēthōra, literally, fullness, from plēthein to be full — more at fullDate:1541 1: a bodily condition characterized by an excess of blood and marked by turgescence and a florid complexion2: excess , superfluity ; also : profusion , abundanceSource: Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary***Okay, so I'm attempting … Continue reading wordy wednesday: plethora
wordy wednesday: De Quervain
Main Entry:de·Quer·vain's disease Pronunciation: \də-(ˌ)kər-ˈvaⁿz-\ Function:noun : inflammation of tendons and their sheaths at the styloid process of the radius that often causes pain in the thumb side of the wrist Quer·vain \ker-vaⁿ\, Fritz de (1868–1940), Swiss physician. The author of a major text on surgery, Quervain was known for his work on the pathology … Continue reading wordy wednesday: De Quervain
wordy wednesday: akimbo
I love this word even if it is a dreaded adverb. My love is effusive and overflowing. I can't even articulate how many ways the hard consonants please me.→ adverb with hands on the hips and elbows turned outwards: she stood with arms akimbo, frowning at the small boy.• (with reference to limbs) flung out … Continue reading wordy wednesday: akimbo
wordy wednesday: corpulent
corpulent→ adjective(of a person) fat: a short, somewhat corpulent man.- DERIVATIVES corpulence noun corpulency noun .- ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin corpulentus, from corpus ‘body’."This Adonis in loveliness was a corpulent man of fifty." - Leigh HuntSource: The Oxford Dictionary of English (revised edition). Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2005. … Continue reading wordy wednesday: corpulent
