Author Archives: Richard Jeffrey Newman

The Book of Tea: Cultural Tradition, Philosophy, and Anti-Racist Politics

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I recently made a promise to myself that I would not buy any new books–excepting those that I might be required to buy for professional purposes–until I had read through at least one of the bookshelves on the wall in … Continue reading →

Posted in Race, racism and related issues | 32 Comments

Limericks for My Son

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

When my son was very young, no older than three, we brought him to a poetry reading that I was part of at St. Mark’s Place in New York City. Reading and reciting poems with me, especially ones that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Learning to Love the Sentence: Prepping ENG 105 (4)

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

The two best writing teachers I’ve ever had were Sallie Sears, who taught a course in the contemporary novel, which I took during my junior year, and June Jordan, who led the poetry workshop, my first, which I took that … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 7 Comments

Learning to Love the Sentence: Prepping ENG 105 (3)

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Whenever I teach ENG 105, I always begin with the same lesson, the point of which is to get students thinking about how much they know about the grammar of American English without even realizing they know it. I start … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 8 Comments

Learning to Love the Sentence: Prepping English 105 (2)

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I have always loved this Calvin and Hobbes cartooon. It reminds me of Dr. Aaron Carton, one of my favorite undergraduate linguistics professors. One day, I was sitting in his office and he was telling me about a conference paper … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 7 Comments

Learning to Love the Sentence – Prepping ENG 105 (1)

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

For the first time in a long time, I am scheduled to teach ENG 105, Grammar: Structure and Strategy. In the past, I have taught it successfully as a class in parsing sentences, a skill that I first learned in … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Writing | 9 Comments

CavanKerry Press Shines the Spotlight on My Poem “Coitus Interruptus”

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

My publisher, CavanKerry Press, posted today a profile of “Coitus Interruptus,” a poem from my first book, The Silence of Men. I was asked to write a little bit about the poem. Here’s an excerpt of what I had to say: … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Comments Off on CavanKerry Press Shines the Spotlight on My Poem “Coitus Interruptus”

Farid al-Din Attar: A Reading Journal 6

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Here’s another quote from The Conference of the Birds: But think of some new pilgrim, some young boy, Whose boldness comes from mere excess of joy; He has no certain knowledge of the Way, And what seems rudeness is but … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Religion, Writing | 2 Comments

My Work as a Translator “Spotlighted” on Intralingo

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Lisa Carter has been running a series on her blog, Intralingo, in which she spotlights literary translators, and she’s just posted mine. Here’s an excerpt from my answer to her question What do you love most and least about [translating]? [W]hat I … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 7 Comments

Male Feminism in 1914

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I subscribe to Voice Male magazine, the tag line for which is “Changing Men in Changing Times.” It’s kind of like Ms. for the profeminist men’s movement. (Many of their issues are archived online; they are definitely worth a look.) In … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Men and masculinity | 55 Comments