Articles written by Kerry Michael Wood - Page 5

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About me - Kerry Michael Wood

I am a graduate of Yale University with a Master's degree in English. I am busily retired and live in Pacific Grove, CA. I am attempting to market my self-published memoir, "Past Imperfect, Present Progressive. I spend much of my spare time at the computer

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Religion & Spirituality > Christian Doctrine & Issues Apostasy in the church: 1 of 7
Throughout most of my life, I was blissfully unaware of what it would be like to be a victim or subject of prejudice. After all, I am a member of the white race, and a Californian as opposed, say, to a Southerner. My accent is not quite Westchester County, but is pretty much what one hears on television and radio. I am not J... More..
Arts & Humanities > Languages (Other) Playing with words for the fun of it: 3 of 18
Were it not for Wordplay of different kinds, my daily life would be far more boring and tedious than it is. Not that I don't have days that drag by with zero in the way of pleasant activities and diversions. But the brain is a playground unaffected by foul weather or power outage. My cerebral slides, swings and monkeybars ge... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Cheese: 2 of 12
Hommage au Fromage Aged like my grandfather's wind-up Victrola, I love the scent of a fine Gorgonzola. Velveeta's cheap and tastes much cruder. Substitute a wedge of Gouda. Cheddar's sharp but eggs taste better Mixed with salty cheese like Feta; Add a chunk of warm boloney Topped with shredded provolone . Eyes like pearls- s... More..
Arts & Humanities > William Shakespeare The mistakes in Shakespeare's writings: 1 of 6
How many William Shakespeares would it have taken to change a light bulb? Did the Bard of Stratford on Avon believe in disambiguation? Did he floss regularly? Foolish questions to ask about a man who died in 1616 before electricity, before Wikipedia popularized the "d" word. His surname has been spelled more than twenty diff... More..
Relationships & Family > Online Dating Internet dating's adverse effects: 1 of 6
The April morning in Studio City was warm, promising an afternoon in the mid-80s. Sally and I were killing time at a sidewalk table of the Coffee Bean on Ventura Boulevard. The majority of the clientele were single Gen-Xers doing what Gen-Xers do in the Starbucks, Peets, and lesser-known coffee houses that proliferate on the... More..
Arts & Humanities > William Shakespeare Play reviews: Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will, by William Shakespeare: 1 of 6
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will is set in "A City in Illyria; and the Sea-coast near it." Illyria in Elizabethan times referred to an area of the Balkan peninsula on the eastern shore of the Adriatic sea. For Shakespeare, it was merely a land of make-believe where anything can and probably will happen. Orsino:... More..
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Poetry analysis: Morning Song, by Sylvia Plath: 1 of 6
The opening line of Sylvia Plath's "Morning Song" combines personification, metaphor and simile in a single nine-word sentence. The opening word "Love," the sentence's subject, is a personification. The noun "love" is an abstraction. No abstraction can activate a timepiece. But the watch is not the direct object of the verb ... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: The pressures faced by English teachers: 1 of 6
The reading load imposed on college undergraduates, particularly those in the liberal arts, is invariably huge and virtually impossible for the ordinary student to manage. Nearly everyone I know who was an English major at a major university had to adopt some speed reading stratagem in order to do even the most meager justic... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips How to write a pantoum poem: 1 of 6
A pantoum is a Malaysian verse form involving a schematized repetition. In its loosest form, it involves a series of quatrains or four-line stanzas rhymed abab. Lines 2 and 4 of the first quatrain become lines 1 and 2 of the next quatrain, and that pattern recurs with each succeeding quatrain. The extended rhyme scheme there... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Observing: 7 of 40
Ode to Popcorn Popcorn. The aroma Dominates the room Takes prisoner the air. I pluck a single kernel: Tiny brain. Dry coral polyp, Domed above With labyrinthine interior. Insidious salt Flavors residual oil. One handful munched Demands another and yet Another till the bowl is cleaned And finger chases round the bottom Gather... More..