Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (2016) tricked me for a moment. It portrays the famous underground railroad, a network of abolitionists and volunteers who helped slaves escape the south and head north in nineteenth century America, as an actual railroad with trains and tunnels. I thought that I had somehow missed something in history classes,... Continue Reading →
I have been in group settings in which people will say, “I don’t really care about [insert societal problem] because it doesn’t affect me.” Or, “I don’t want to talk about that because it upsets me.” Notice that both of these statements end with the pronoun “me,” and consequently these statements are essentially selfish. Now,... Continue Reading →
I once gave a presentation in an undergraduate grammar and usage course about the correct usage of “between you and me.” Saying “between you and I” is incorrect. On my handout, I included several quotes that demonstrated this usage, and I had included quotes from both Mark Twain and Samuel Clemens. Of course, I knew... Continue Reading →
Alex Haley, famous for writing Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976), searched for identity by tracing his family history. He spent many years inquiring of every African he met the meaning of a few African words passed down from his ancestor Kunta Kinte, who was kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in... Continue Reading →
I recently watched the adorable movie Julie and Julia with the incomparable Meryl Streep and the impossibly cute Amy Adams. Yes, the movie is about blogging (and cooking), but that’s not my point. There is a scene in which Julia Child is writing to a friend, and she describes herself leaping out of bed every... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 