3 Essay Anthologies That Arent About Writing

3 Essay Anthologies That Arent About Writing I love reading essays by writers I know and love (and writers Ive never heard of). Its fascinating to get to spend a few pages inside a writers own head, rather than with their characters, or to read the prose of a writer whom I primarily know through their poetry. I also love reading about writing itselfâ€"theres something comforting about seeing my own struggles and frustrations with the art reflected on the page, in the words of published authors. But though I love a good anthology of Writers on Writing, its the books with (hypothetical) titles like Writers on Baseball, Writers on Climate Change, or Writers on Their Favorite Childhood Games that really catch my eye. Writers, after all, are whole people, with varied lives and interests. When they offer up their thoughts and opinions on everything from nature to fashion to pop music to cookingâ€"in the form of beautiful and thought-provoking essays, I count it as a gift. Here are three incredible essay anthologies Ive enjoyed recently, in which a whopping total of 51 writers share their insight on three very different topics: race, rereading books, and not having kids. Selfish, Shallow Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids, edited by Meghan Daum Essays (and nonfiction books of all kinds) about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood are not hard to find. It is hard to find the opposite: books about people who have chosen not to have kids. Being childless by choice, especially for women, is still looked upon with concern, confusion, and sometimes outright hostility. In these brilliant, moving, funny, and thoughtful essays, sixteen writers delve right into that taboo. With honesty and heart, they discuss their reasons for choosing not to have children. What I love most about this collection is the wide diversity of experience these writers represent. Some of them agonized over the decision; some knew since childhood that they did not want to be parents. Some of the essays are deeply personal; others explore the cultural idea that motherhood=womanhood, and how this is damaging for everyone. As someone who has always felt ambivalent toward motherhood, the kinship and familiarity I felt reading these essays was a refreshing change. I could not put this book down. Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love, edited by Anne Fadiman I fell in love Ex Libris, Anne Faidmans ode to books, when I first read it in high school. Rereadings, in which an array of adult writers reread books they loved as children or teens, is just as lovely. The essays vary widelyâ€"some leaning more toward literary criticism and some toward more personal narrativeâ€"but all of them capture the profundity of the impact certain books can have on our lives. Whether discussing Pride and Prejudice or the lyrics on the back of Sgt. Pepper, these essays are all delightful, insightful, and moving in their own way. This is a book about reading, but more than that, its a book about how we change over the course of our lives, using books as lens to track and explore those changes. The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward With essays from such literary giants as Claudia Rankine and  Edwidge Danticat (among many others), this is a must-read anthology for everyone striving to understand Americas past and present. Conceived as a response to Baldwins classic 1963 The Fire Next Time, these moving and powerful essays explore race and racism through the varying perspectives and experiences of their authors. As a whole, the collection speaks both to the trauma caused by American racism and to the possibility of a more hopeful future. I found myself copying down copious passages as I was reading it; its one of those books that Ive come back to again and again. Sign up for True Story to receive nonfiction news, new releases, and must-read forthcoming titles. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Marital Lessons from Ibsens a Dolls House Argumentative Essays

A marriage is a life time commitment between two people to share their lives and experiences as companions. In the least sense, this is what most people hope would happen when they commit to spent the rest of their lives together. It is a commitment and efforts between two people to be true to each other and support and love each other without any conditions whether in good times or bad times.   Though, there are many characteristics associated to marriage, I feel, three are most important and define what a good marriage is, and are, trust, respect, and communication. These characteristics lay the foundation for a successful marriage. With regard to these qualities, it is of my opinion that the marriage between Torvald and Nora in Ibsen are A Doll’s House does not meet the threshold of a good marriage. A Doll’s House which is a play by Henrik Ibsen is a good example of a marriage that didn’t work.   The major factors that contribute to a good marriage are clearly lacking from the play. Ibsen paints a gloomy picture of the sacrifices women undergo in marriages. Women of all economic classes continuously sacrifice their integrity but rarely do men do the same. The dehumanizing oppression and social struggle of women, especially those from middle class families can be clearly seen from the play. The play and   revolves around Torvald and Nora Helmer, who lives as husband and wife and the two are unable to enjoy marital bliss because their marriage is fraught with many problems. The marriage between the two did not have the requisite balance for it to be successful.   Qualities that make marriages work can only be cultivated if the relationship is based on love.   Even though that of the two was at first based on love, the case did to remain the same as the marriage progressed.   Nora was not truly loved by Torvald. To Torvald, Nora was just another child to mind.   This can be clearly seen from his statement when he says, â€Å"And I wouldnt want you to be any different from what you are-just my sweet little song bird. But now I come to think of it, you look rather-rather-how shall I put it? -rather as if youve been up to mischief today† (152).   It is clear that Torvald does not love his wife as seen from the disrespectful names like ‘squirrel’ and ‘spendthrift’ he uses to describe her.   Respect is a key factor in good marriages and by using these terms, it just shows how insensitive and disrespectful he was to wards his wife.   The way he managed his house is also a sign of his lack of love and respect. To him, he owned a doll house which was perfect according to his belief.   Even though the doll house initially belonged to his father in law, he got possession of its title deed after marrying Nora. He ensured that he maintained a firm control over the doll house by manipulating Nora and the children. His marriage was eventually ruined as a result of his overbearing attitude and lack of love. For a union between two people to be deemed successful, communication is a very essential component. One partner should not expect the other one to read their mind. Breakdown in communication can have grave implications on a marriage and it may end up breaking.   It is therefore necessary that couples share their thoughts, likes and dislikes as much as possible. For example, before the wife goes out to pay the water bill, the husband should be aware of the amount of money needed. In the same sense, it is good for a husband to inform his wife when he is going out to have beer or just entertainment in a club. In a good marriage, if one is informed by the partner of his or her intentions to borrow money to solve an issue at hand, the decision is fully supported and conflicts are reduced, but the possibility of this happening in Nora and Torvald’s marriage is unlikely since due to the stubbornness of Torvald when it comes to money. To Torvald, he is a powerful doll master and ca nnot allow himself to accept help form his dolls whom he viewed as unintelligent. It is clear that there is a lot of mistrust among the two as seen when Nora keeps secrets of debts from Torvald even though she came into debt after borrowing money which they used to go for a trip in Italy.   Torvald does also not respect his wife and treats her like a child when it comes to issues related to money.   The existence of mistrust works against them when the wife decides to leave him. If there had been proper communication between the two, conflicts would have been avoided but it can be seen that there was poor communication among the two, leading the wife to complain and say, â€Å"We have stayed together for eight years. Don’t you realize the it is high time the two of us sit together as man and wife and have a serious conversation regarding our lives† (224). Lack of communication builds mistrust in marriages and it is impossible for two people to stay together if they don’t trust each other.   If one partner feels like or she needs to constantly be checking on the other, the marriage is bound to fail, just it happened to Nora and Torvald. In conclusion, Ibsen’s play is a thoughtful analysis of the intricacies surrounding marriages and how marriages collapse as a result of factors that can be avoided.   A good marriage is one where two people love, respect each other and maintain a constant and genuine communication at all times. It is these ingredients that make couples enjoy their marriages to the fullest. These were missing from Nora and Torvald’s marriage and therefore it can be concluded that theirs was an example of a bad marriage. Work Cited: Isben, Henrik. The Doll House. Centennial Edition:   Signet Classics, 1879.

Pros And Cons Of Bosnian Genocide - 1643 Words

Often, there is conflict amongst states that escalates, eventually, into war. With these wars, comes death and immense devastation; devastation that takes form in many ways. The worst of them are the human rights violations that occur, leaving behind a pain that is often rarely treated or addressed. Through the approach, transitional justice, victims of these horrible crimes against humanity have a system that allows them to seek some form of justice. Focus on the Bosnian genocide will allow for one to see how a specific case of transitional justice was played out and the cons, along with pros, of the actions every actor took that either prolonged or stiffened the progression of peace and justice in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and†¦show more content†¦The worse of them took place at Srebrenica, where seven thousand men and boys were murdered. The women were and children were separated; sending the women to rape camps where they were raped and tortured for months until pregnant. This all occurred in a town that was a â€Å"safe haven† according to the UN’s standards but, to most, never was but merely under the â€Å"weak† protection of the UN. The victims, which consisted of men, women, and children from as young as an infant to as old as the elderly were not spared. It is estimated that over one-hundred and forty thousand people were killed, twenty-thousand women were raped and over four million people were displaced. Till this day the bodies and location of those who disappeared are still being searched for throughout the state of Bosnia with around eight thousand people still missing from the war. Originally, the response from the international actors was to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that were occurring. The first photos illustrating the horrors that were occurring in Bosnia were brought to the public’s attention in 1992, yet the international community still refused to intervene, despite the outrage and similarity to the nineteen- forty-five holocaust. The plan was to, instead, make six safe zone areas that were to be monitored by peace keepers from the UN. But proved to be ineffective due to the of lack of weapons and the policy of no firingShow MoreRelatedEssay on Religion Causes War1486 Words   |  6 PagesRELIGION CAUSES WAR: PROS AND CONS There are many arguments and counter-arguments when discussing the topic of religion causing war. Many critics argue that throughout history, religion has been the single greatest source of human-caused wars, suffering, and misery. In the name of God (by whatever name), more suffering has been inflicted than by any other man-made cause. (Pro Side) Critics on the other side counter that modern secular ideological movements are actually responsible for much greaterRead MorePolicy1331 Words   |  6 PagesOctober that the traffic death rate dropped to a record low level in 1997. Moreover, the average fatality rate even fell in the states that raised their speed limits Apply the argument mapping procedures presented in Chapter 8 to analyze the pros and cons (or strengths and weaknesses) of the recommendations that the United States should not intervene in the Balkans. Write an analysis of 1-2 pages that uses critical thinking to assess the overall plausibility of the †¨claim: â€Å"TheRead MoreThe Infancy of Humanitarian Intervention1906 Words   |  8 Pagesmilitary action. The United Nation’s humanitarian intervention, and the principles of its military action, has shown time after time of its failures and successes in combating or escalating wide spread violence. In this study I will weigh the pros and cons of several conflicts where humanitarian intervention was deployed and decide if humanitarian intervention was a successful or unsuccessful procedure. By focusing on what is causing these complications in enforcing humanitarian intervention withinRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesthe communist victory of 1975 were ethnic Chinese. They were also highly overrepresented among those who were massacred or fled during the contemporaneous Khmer Rouge genocide in neighboring Cambodia. In Indonesia, Chinese residents have been persecuted and expelled for being, at 42 †¢ CHAPTER 1 different times, pro-Western imperialists, communists, and capitalist exploiters of the Indonesian masses. Tens of thousands of Hmongs who had been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency

A Person Who I Admire Free Essays

A person who I admire A person who I admire is an interesting topic. I believe you can admire more than one person. A typical admiration I have seen is when people boy, are admiring a very famous singer, actor etc. We will write a custom essay sample on A Person Who I Admire or any similar topic only for you Order Now although it is typical, it is still a good admiration because you can use that person as your role model or idol. Fx. If your role model is a sportsman, then you can admire his performing skills, and maybe learn something from him or her. But trough my life I have admired many persons, friends, older people, teachers, etc. All these people have given me experiences and personal abilities which I have acquired with help from them. My opinion is that I cannot admire one person specially. When I admire someone I respect the person’s character. After my experience I also admire someone when I am in his presence. A person who can change a bad day to a good day, fx my mother. My mother is defiantly one of my top 3 list over admired persons. Just imagine without your mother you would not exist. Everyone should admire how housemothers are struggling to raise there children’s. I am indeed of her proud of my mother, it is because of her that I am that what I am today. When I always have been in a bad mood my mother opened up my minds to look at things in a different perspective. Fx when I has had a problem she shared her experiences with me and learned me to tackle every situation. Another important person who I likes to admire is my father. A father and a mother is an admirable couple that forms a basis of a children’s life. My parents are like advisers, I can talk to them when I need help. They are motivating me to achieve my goal. I promised myself when I grow older and start a family, i will tell my children’s about my childhood and how I admired my parents. At least my expectation for myself is that I can be a loved parent. I really hope that I will have the same kindness that my parents have. My parents taught me that I can have a good life in 2 ways. The first one is a life full of material comforts, good economy, good education, and high position in the society. The second one is life where you are satisfied with your life, and when you have a good family and good friends, but it doesn’t mean it is an opposite life where you live in extreme poorness you have some material comforts. But let’s say that you lose some money. Then you should not get sad and frustrated because there is something more important than money in our lives. I have a friend at my soccerteam. Once a time he told me about his childhood, and that before he came to Denmark he had lived in Afghanistan. He was 4 when he and his family escaped from war. He said that he lived a good life in Afghanistan. His father owned a company, and they have a good economic. But when the war started the family was forced to run away from the country. Now his father is a cleaner and his mother is on social society. But even though he had been through that he is still happy that he lives in peacefully Denmark. That’s a life my parents taught it is possible to live a life with happiness without being a millionaire. That is what I most admire my parents for, teaching me about life. I think every human on this planet should admire his parents and look up to them, am proud of being there child. Without my father I would not know how to be a man. No one can reprove me like my father. If a child grows up without a father he is missing some basic abilities. The same is if a girl child grows up without a mother something will be missing. My parents have done a lot to me, they have sacrified time, nerves, and energy just to raise me up, and I have not forgotten all that hard work. That’s why im not just admiring them but also respecting them when they are giving me orders. I am helping them with assignments. Finally I very appreciate them for after my opinion being the best parents for me. My parents are them who I admire most, I don’t know exactly why but your parents will always be there for you. A friend or some other randomly people are not the same as your parents. When you admire you parents they are admiring you too, that’s maybe not the same to other people. You like them but maybe they don’t like you. Even when my parents die I will remember them in my mind and there soul and goodness will still be living in me. How to cite A Person Who I Admire, Essay examples

The Dos and Don’ts of Email Greetings - The Writers For Hire

THE DOS AND DON’TS OF EMAIL GREETINGS In this day and age, it is not unusual to communicate with a client almost entirely by email. Emails are a quick and easy way to relay messages, and keep track of important information.  ­ Figuring out how to start an email (especially when you are sending it to someone you don’t know very well) can be a bit of a challenge, though. You don’t want to come off as too informal, but you also want to be sure your email makes you sound friendly and approachable. The actual greeting is not the only thing you need to worry about. The name you address a person by is equally important. After all, most people have strong feelings about their name preferences, and calling someone by the wrong name or title can immediately give the person a negative impression of you. And starting an email off with a generic greeting, like â€Å"To Whom it May Concern,† or â€Å"Dear Sir or Madam† gives a very impersonal feeling, and can make the reader feel like you have no idea who they are and are just sending a generic email. So, how do you know the best way to start an email? And what name should you use to address the person you are writing to? This great article from LADDERS explains the importance of using the right email greetings, and gives some great tips to help make your emails sound professional and friendly. While there are several greetings that they have deemed as acceptable, depending on who you are writing to and how well you know them, there was one greeting that they deemed the winner: a simple ‘Hi (name),†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ According to the article, this is the best greeting because it is a safe and familiar way to address someone, regardless of whether or not you know them. Plus, you can easily add formality to the greeting by using a â€Å"Mr.† or â€Å"Mrs.† title, followed by the person’s last name. While â€Å"Hi† was the overall winner in terms of which greeting to use, there were several greetings that the article advises against using. Some of them, such as â€Å"Hey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"(first name)!!† are just too informal. And others, such as â€Å"Dear†¦,† can be too formal and impersonal. The article also warns against using too many exclamation marks, not verifying that you have the correct spelling of a person’s name, and using nicknames. Ultimately, when sending emails, your greeting should be something that addresses the specific person that you are sending the email to in a way that comes off as friendly and respectful, while not overly casual or laid back. And, perhaps most importantly, never send an email without a greeting.

Big Time Toymaker Essays - Contract Law, Contract, Mistake

Big Time Toymaker Essays - Contract Law, Contract, Mistake Big Time Toymaker LAW/421 November 10, 2014 Big Time Toymaker An agreement recognized by a court of law is called a contract. A binding contract is the result of an agreement, whether the agreement is verbal or written, providing certain requirements be met (Melvin, 2011). The purpose of contracts is to provide protection to both parties involved in the agreement. In this simulation, Chou had invented a revolutionary game, Strat, which had piqued the interest of Big Time Toymaker (BTT). Chou and BTT entered into an agreement that gave BTT exclusive rights to Chous inventory for the period of 90 days in exchange for a monetary transaction of $25,000 (Melvin, 2011). Evaluation of this particular situation will lead to the discovery of some of the pros and cons a contract can provide, how to determine if a contract is necessary in a situation, as well as a few remedies should a breach of contract occur. Contract Melvin (2011) stated, BTT was interested in distributing Strat and entered into an agreement with Chou whereby BTT paid him $25,000 in exchange for exclusive negotiation rights for a 90-day period. The exclusive negotiation agreement stipulated that no distribution contract existed unless it was in writing (p. 155). These are concrete terms that form a verbal agreement, which was held in place, that lead to the creation of a written agreement. Even though none of the e-mails exchanged between Chou and BTT ever actually contained the word contract, the e-mails clearly showed that all of the terms were agreed upon by both parties involved, which meets the requirements that outline a contract. Positive and Negative Facts of Agreement This particular simulation provides several facts that are in favor of and against Chou in terms of the parties objective intent to form a contract. The first fact in Chous favor is the first meeting where an agreement was made with BTT regarding the monetary exchange for exclusive negotiation rights. BTT sending over a follow-up e-mail that clearly stated their agreed upon terms was a second fact in favor of Chou, as well as the fax from BTT requesting that Chou create a draft for an actual contract. Chou also had in his favor the fact that both parties spent a notable amount of time acting under the agreed upon terms of the drafted contract. However, because the negotiation agreement stated that there would be no contract for distribution unless otherwise stated in writing, and BTTs e-mail that repeated the agreed upon terms did not contain signatures from either party, binding the contract, the oral negotiation agreement passed the 90-day deadline with no technical contract in pla ce. It was not until several months had passed that that BTT had requested a draft of a contract. Impact of E-mail Thanks to the evolution of technology, in the paperless world of electronic communications, a paper communication is no longer necessary to hold to the bond of an agreement. The e-mails exchanged between Chou and BTT outlines an agreement made by both parties based on the terms agreed upon in the meeting regarding distribution. Without the e-mail exchange identified as a contract by written words, it displays an acknowledgment by Chou and BTT of an existent contract. According to Melvin (2011), because the e-mail provided a senders name at the bottom of the message, the Mailbox rule applies, and the name is to be considered an electronic signature. Statute of Frauds Melvin (2011) states, Under the Uniform Commercial Code, the statute of frauds applies to any contract for the sale of goods for $500 or more, and any lease transaction for goods amounting to $1,000 or more (p. 151). Because the $25,000 was received by Chou under the negotiation agreement, the sale of goods should be considered for the Strat game. The electronic signature at the bottom of the e-mail from BTT to Chou is also considered, especially since the e-mail clearly stated the agreed upon terms. Chou could use the fact that the whole scenario was misleading because there was an exchange of money for goods, a verbal agreement, and an e-mail containing all of the elements of a contract. Doctrine of Mistake Melvin (2011) defines a mutual mistake as A mutual mistake may be the basis for canceling a contract (also

Vitamins May Hurt Your Health

Vitamins May Hurt Your Health MSN ran a feature about ConsumerLab.coms investigation into the purity of multivitamins. The lab looked at 21 brands of multivitamins for sale in the U.S. and Canada and found only 10 of these brands met the labeled claims or otherwise met quality standards. That doesnt have to mean anything earth-shattering. It could have been the other brands were close to meeting standards or had minor problems. However, the quality issues were ones that could actually hurt your health. The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women were found to be contaminated with lead. Now, lets put this in perspective. Several calcium supplements run the risk of lead contamination, because lead and calcium participate in many of the same chemical reactions and are difficult to separate. That trace amounts of lead would be present might be expected. However, ConsumerLab.com reported a daily dose of this mulitvitamin contained a whopping 15.3 micrograms of lead (more than ten times the amount permitted without a warning in California). To make matters worse, though you got some bonus lead for your bucks, you only got 54% of the stated levels of calcium. Another vitamin posed a different risk. Hero Nutritionals Yummi Bears, a kids multivitamin, contained 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A in the retinol form [5,400 International Units (IU)], which is considerably higher than the upper limit set by the Institute of Medicine of 2,000 IU for kids ages 1 to 3 and 3,000 IU for kids ages 4 to 8. Vitamin A is one of the vitamins where more is not better. Instead, too much vitamin A can weaken bones and cause liver damage. Are these quality control issues? Yes, but I would have been surprised if the lab had found the vitamins met their stated claims. Why? For two reasons. First, vitamins arent regulated by the same standards as medicine. They are considered supplements and not drugs. Your best defense against this is to buy a product from nationally-recognized reputable source with an interest in protecting its good name. The other reason I wouldnt expect vitamins to contain exactly what is listed on the label is simple chemistry. Vitamins, by their very nature, are reactive. The quantities listed in a product will change over the course of its shelf life. Your main protection here is to not take vitamins past their expiration date. Should you take a multivitamin? Ask yourself whether the potential benefit outweighs the risk. If you are taking a major name brand multivitamin, you are probably getting approximately what is listed. Even then, expect some variation within the product and some degree of heavy-metal contamination with products that include minerals. These vitamins generally are safe, but dont take them automatically assuming they will help you.