Monday 01 April 2024 While drafting last week’s blog “PROFESSOR, WHY AREN’T WE READING ‘___’?” (25 March 2024), I at once planned for a new blog series on other experiences from my classrooms. Last semester a precocious student asked me whether I was cynical. In what was to be this week’s blog, I started writing […]
A Blog Draft Becomes a Book Chapter Draft Instead Read More »
Monday 25 March 2024 “Professor, can I ask you a question?” a student requests. Because I’ve taught the War Class for nearly ten years—longer than my Literature of the Holocaust course—when they ask me questions after class, I intuitively sense it’s about the course reading list. When they ask me about an upcoming assignment, they
“Professor, Why Aren’t We Reading ‘___’?” Read More »
Monday 18 March 2024 The Thursday after the 16 February 2024 Russian announcement declaring Alexei Navalny, Russian dissident, had died after he walked around the prison grounds of the IK-3 “special regime” colony, known as “Polar Wolf”, I, on a whim, ventured to Union Square Park. I finished teaching my morning class. Not only to
Alexei Navalny: Scenes from a Pilgrimage Read More »
Monday 11 March 2024 Alexei Navalny was a Prisoner of Conscience. Was again a Prisoner of Conscience; indeed, was recognized twice. Then he wasn’t. And then his status as a Prisoner of Conscience was restored. *** Alexei Navalny was a Prisoner of Conscience. Was, not only in the sense that he no longer is
Alexei Navalny: “oh, come on, Daniel.” Read More »
Monday 04 March 2024 I had promised that my next blog was to be on the murder of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. I promise; I still will finish writing that one, but I must explain why I can’t publish it this week. First and in part, teaching about Navalny in the college
Monday 26 February 2024 Like my college students, I, too, wish I could get through the revision stage of my writing process faster and easier than I am currently doing. And like them, I, too, have thought, “Do I really need to revise this or that section?” I tell myself what I tell those reluctant
When Revision Is Having Patience Read More »
Monday 19 February 2024 When drafting this blog on revision, I initially entitled it, “When Revision Is Cutting.” I liked the title. Within moments after writing out the title in my notebook, I fastened upon the word, “Cutting.” I grimaced, puzzling over “Cutting.” I didn’t like the word. Slashing, carving, lacerating…. all violent and destructive
When Revision Is Letting Go Read More »
Friday 16 February 2024 Russian Prison Services declared that Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and political prisoner Alexei Navalny is dead. I am speechless not because I was caught off guard by this news, but because the death declaration confirms my worst fears. At this point, no one can say they were genuinely shocked
Breaking News: Alexei Navalny Dies In Prison Read More »
Monday 12 February 2024 King Arthur’s editorial skills impress me because his various professional roles and positions: dissertation writer and published author, philosophy professor, and military officer not only account for his objectivity and credibility as a manuscript reader but explain his subtleness, discernment, and empathy as a reader. He deftly struck a balance between
When Revision Is Working With a Manuscript Editor Read More »
Monday 05 February 2024 Revision isn’t always cutting a paragraph or an entire section from a written draft. Revision doesn’t always mean adding or creating new content. Revision can be rearranging parts of a text to other places in the draft, inserting them earlier or later in the draft. At first, this form of
When Revision Is Moving Written Content Around Read More »