Stephanie Whetstone – Page 45

Old Filth (2004) by Jane Gardam

Stephanie Whetstone2015-01-01T12:00:34-05:00

Critical Assessment "Anglophile readers wondering who their next favorite British writer will be need look no further than Gardam, who, despite having won numerous literary awards and been short-listed for the Booker Prize, is not nearly as well known in the U.S. as she deserves. The title of this, her twelfth novel, seems to promise that satiric bite British authors do so well, but although there’s plenty of sharp humor here, the book has many other moods. Sir Edward Feathers – called Filth (even by his wife, Betty) for 'Failed in London Try Hong Kong' – is now retired and living [...]

Old Filth (2004) by Jane GardamStephanie Whetstone2015-01-01T12:00:34-05:00

facetious (fə-SĒ-shəs)

Stephanie Whetstone2014-12-08T12:00:05-05:00

Definition (Adjective) Characterized by or given to pleasantry or joking, now especially when inappropriate or flippant; witty, humorous, amusing. In Context "The not entirely facetious muttering among Laborites was that it was not Labor that badly needed changing; but an ungrateful and foolish people." Yosef Goell, "Our Democracy's Alive and Kicking," The Jerusalem Post, January 27, 2003.

facetious (fə-SĒ-shəs)Stephanie Whetstone2014-12-08T12:00:05-05:00

The Moon is Down (1942) by John Steinbeck

Stephanie Whetstone2014-12-01T12:00:20-05:00

Critical Assessment "Most works of propaganda do not survive the crises that produce them. The Moon is Down is an exception. . . . The novel's endurance suggests that while The Moon is Down may have been conceived, written, and used as propaganda, it is probably best described as a work of literature that served as propaganda. Judged by purely artistic standards, it is not among the author's best efforts. Scholars and reviewers have most frequently criticized its wooden characters and transparent didacticism, flaws characteristic of novels of ideas. But few literary works in our time have demonstrated so triumphantly the [...]

The Moon is Down (1942) by John SteinbeckStephanie Whetstone2014-12-01T12:00:20-05:00

perspicacity (pûr-spĭ-KĂS-ĭ-tē)

Stephanie Whetstone2014-12-01T11:59:57-05:00

Definition (Noun) Clearness of understanding or insight; great mental penetration; discernment. In Context "By now Coucy was a member of the Royal Council, clearly relied on by Charles V for his perspicacity and diplomacy." Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, 1978. This word was suggested by Jeff Bergman in the Office of Human Resources.

perspicacity (pûr-spĭ-KĂS-ĭ-tē)Stephanie Whetstone2014-12-01T11:59:57-05:00

captious (KĂP-shəs)

Stephanie Whetstone2014-11-17T12:00:38-05:00

Definition (Adjective) Apt to catch at faults or take exception to actions; disposed to find fault, cavil, or raise objections; fault-finding, cavilling, carping. In Context "I did think the style just a shade too archaic, but considered it a captious criticism." Valerie Eliot and John Haffenden, Editors, The Letters of T. S. Eliot: Volume 3, 1926-1927, 2012.

captious (KĂP-shəs)Stephanie Whetstone2014-11-17T12:00:38-05:00

One Word; Many Meanings

Stephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:24:23-05:00

One Word; Many Meanings In It's All in a Word, British linguist Vivian Cook reminds us that the true measure of our vocabulary is not so much our command of words as our command of their innumerable meanings. Take "mean" itself, which, among other things, can refer to signification (I don't know what you mean by that remark), intent (I mean to have dinner tonight), a consequence (This means trouble), unkindness (The children were mean to one another), avarice (Ebenezer Scrooge was mean with his money), lowliness (From mean beginnings, she rose high in her profession), excellence (He was a mean [...]

One Word; Many MeaningsStephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:24:23-05:00

ratiocinate (rash-ē-ŎS-ə-nāt)

Stephanie Whetstone2014-11-10T12:00:33-05:00

Definition (Verb) To reason; to carry out or form judgements by a process of logical reasoning. In Context "In any rigorous or narrow sense the voters are not highly rational; that is, most of them do not ratiocinate on the matter, e.g., to the extent that they do on the purchase of a car or a home." Peter Bachrach, Editor, Political Elites in a Democracy, 1971.

ratiocinate (rash-ē-ŎS-ə-nāt)Stephanie Whetstone2014-11-10T12:00:33-05:00

On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac

Stephanie Whetstone2014-11-01T12:00:47-04:00

Critical Assessment "What matters about 'On the Road' is the book's raw energy yoked to its sense of promise in 'all that raw land,' the shove it offers to get out of one's own chair and see what lies over the horizon. . . . The book is a hymn to purposelessness, an antidote to what John Fowles once decried as our modern 'addiction to finding a reason, a function, a quantifiable yield' in everything we do. "Above all, 'On the Road' matters for its music: its plaintive, restless hum. In it, Kerouac perfected a melancholy optimism and a yearning for [...]

On the Road (1957) by Jack KerouacStephanie Whetstone2014-11-01T12:00:47-04:00

You Are a Writer

Stephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:25:45-05:00

You Are a Writer by Kathy Taylor This month, Princeton Writes announced an essay contest designed to encourage members of Princeton's staff to exercise their gifts as writers and to recognize those who express themselves in a particularly clear, creative, and compelling way. Some may hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity on the grounds that they are not "writers," reserving this title for novelists and journalists or other professional wordsmiths. But as Kathy Taylor, a member of the selection committee that will award the Princeton Writes Prize, points out in this guest post, anyone who conscientiously embraces the challenge of [...]

You Are a WriterStephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:25:45-05:00

Princeton Writers Talk Fusion in Science Writing Workshop

Stephanie Whetstone2014-10-06T20:37:40-04:00

This article first appeared in the PPPL Weekly of October 6, 2014, and is reproduced with the kind permission of Kitta MacPherson, director of communications for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The Princeton University staffer looked squarely at Angela Capece and asked her question: “What kind of research do you do?” The audience, perched in a conference room in an office tower overlooking main campus, listened closely as Capece, an associate research physicist at PPPL, launched into a simple explanation of fusion and how certain experiments are aiding its advancement. More questions followed. Over the next few minutes, Capece conveyed some of [...]

Princeton Writers Talk Fusion in Science Writing WorkshopStephanie Whetstone2014-10-06T20:37:40-04:00

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