Clik here to view.
Icy waters, lost treasures, timeless tales and the tricky route to immortality
How’s this for a story? At the start of a bloody war that shocked the world, a ship braved Antarctic ice and sailors risked their lives, returning with a tale for the ages. That’s the story of Ernest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A key to clear, accessible writing: Familiar analogies to describe the complex
Ah, those pesky numbers. Not, we journalists are often told, our strong suit. Or to cite the old and very lame joke: “Jourmalists don’t do math.” And yet we must, especially in an era in which numbers...
View ArticleKeeping faith in the face of unlearning
A few days ago, I caught a Lyft to Sea-Tac Airport from my home in Seattle. The driver was originally from Eritrea, as are many of the taxi and share drivers I meet here. He told me he emigrated to the...
View ArticleLessons in good writing from the love of a good dog
On most mornings the little brown dog could be found at the foot of the bed, often on his back with his hind legs spread and his front paws bent at the joint. That’s rest. Good rest. And better rest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What a modern reading of “The Canterbury Tales” can teach us
More decades ago than I care to count, I was assigned to read “The Canterbury Tales” for a high school English class. That was before email and texting reduced the English language to rubble, and yet I...
View ArticleWord play: when clarity and creativity merge
One of my engineer brothers often pesters me about the thicket that is the English language. Silent or paired letters that defy logic: psychic, knave, climb. Words that have letters that seem, upon...
View ArticleAward season 1: A peek behind the scenes at some narrative winners
It’s that season. Not erratic spring, but the reliable roll-out of journalism awards, aka a free education in the best of this work and how it’s done. You can roll your eyes at the glut of awards given...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2022 Power of Narrative: Ellen Barry on inserting yourself into the story
Editor’s note: This is the first of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. New York Times reporter Ellen Barry built her reputation for rock-solid work as a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2022 Power of Narrative: Lizzie Johnson on questions that shape deadline...
Editor’s note: This is the second of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. The first post features New York Times reporter Ellen Barry with tips on first-person...
View ArticleBook bans: An assault on knowledge
During summers of my childhood, a highlight was the twice-monthly visit by the bookmobile. Our small village had no formal public library at the time — we weren’t blessed with one of the 1,600-plus...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2022 Power of Narrative: Debbie Cenziper on the reporting-writing partnership
Editor’s note: This is one of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. For other takeaways, see Ellen Barry on first-person narratives and Lizzie Johnson on deadline...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2022 Power of Narrative: Expert advice on covering drug addiction
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. Read Ellen Barry on first-person narratives, Lizzie Johnson on deadline narratives and Debbie...
View Article2022 Power of Narrative: The matrix of editor, reporter and story
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. Read Ellen Barry on first-person narratives, Lizzie Johnson on deadline narratives, Debbie...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Writing about the unthinkable pain of child suicides
The subjects that draw author, lecturer and essayist Andrew Solomon are never easy or light: Racial bias, gender and sexual identity, the changing definitions of family and, perhaps most notably,...
View ArticleAward season 2022 continued: The Pulitzer Prizes
Stand-out journalism produced last year was honored in the release of the 2022 Pulitzer Prizes, celebrating the best of the craft and affirming the importance of serious, creative journalism in chaotic...
View ArticleThe U.S. Supreme Court leak: Resisting the erasure of human rights
A friend came to the house on a recent evening with all he needed in his grocery tote. He took over my kitchen and let me chatter as he made a remarkable dish: Tender pork medallions with rosemary,...
View ArticleA “story-keeping” project helps people heal
In 2001, hospice nurse Dottie Kluttz started practicing “story medicine.” She’d sit with patients nearing the end of their lives, turn on an audio recorder and ask them questions about themselves. “I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stories behind bars: The power and pitfalls of “emotional truths”
When I began reading Evan Allen’s powerful, critically acclaimed Boston Globe story about Anthony Pledger, all I could think about was Jimmie. Jimmie is a violent offender — a sanitized way of saying...
View ArticlePacking a punch in a few words
If you want to see some creative short-form storytelling, you can skip right past Twitter and TikTok and head straight to the news. Newspapers, news sites, TV news — any with cred are running images of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lauren Hough goes on a hunt for Bonnie and Clyde and her Grandpa Chuck
Lauren Hough has been a bouncer and a barista, a cable guy and a member of the military. But in a recent piece for Texas Highways, the acclaimed essayist shows off another role: eagle-eyed excavator of...
View Article