jamesdmacdonald

Sounding Brass and Clanking Symbols

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
To a lot of readers, literary symbolism is that thing in high school English class that the teacher went on and on about instead of talking about the story. Then some of them turn into writers, and come to the understanding that literary symbolism isn’t some sort of…

Yes, We Write Short Fiction Too

La Belle Winery in Amherst, NH, is hosting a Short Story Slam this Sunday, 02 November 2014, from 4:00 – 6:30 pm (1600 to 1830; eight bells of the noon watch ’til five bells of the second dog). Doyle and I will be reading an all-new story, “Late Train,” (which you hope you’ll enjoy). IfContinue reading “Yes, We Write Short Fiction Too”

Today’s Cranky Observation

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
If ever I needed to present any evidence that this blog post by Matthew Yglesias was mindboggling in its sheer wrong-headedness, this quote alone would do the trick: Transforming a writer’s words into a readable e-book product can be done with a combination of software and a minimal…

Another Nifty Digital Archive

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
Because the past is another country, but sometimes you can visit it through pictures: The CARLI Digital Collection, “established in 2006 as a repository for digital content created by member libraries of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) or purchased by the consortium for…

He, She, It, Them, and all Their Friends

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
English pronouns are a mess, and there’s no getting around the fact. We’re missing a second-person plural in the standard dialect, which hinders translation into and out of languages that have it. All the possible alternatives – y’all, youse, yez, yinz and so forth – are strongly marked…