If I could have, I would have likely spent the rest of my life studying, like, the use of staircases as a literary device in Gothic novels written from 1792-1813. Not even writing about them. Just finding the the staircases and noting the page numbers. It is probably for the best that my degree is terminal or they’d… Read more

I’m counting all my years in college: did my BA in 3 years plus a summer, MA and MFA were another 3, 3 years of coursework for the PhD, and then one year with a fellowship when I finished my dissertation. But because I am truly a one-trick pony, the whole decade was spent in English departments at 3 different… Read more

Ha! Sorry, I’m so used to getting furious emails over typos that’s where my mind immediately goes. We both spelled it right!  Read more

Thank you! Just fixed it.  Read more

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cipher Read more

I feel into an archaic bedding rabbit hole while researching this! It’s fascinating! As are the origins of the terms “making the bed,” “ticking,” and “hit the hay.” Read more

Literally from the source I cited just below written by a professor of architectural history at Northeastern University and author of multiple books about the history of American homes.    Read more

I gave out a bonus point each time someone corrected my spelling, which is admittedly terrifyingly bad, and hopefully proved by example that perfection wasn’t the point of writing, effectively advocating for one’s own ideas is. Also, Hawthorne himself didn’t even spell it Hawthorne until he graduated college, so I’m… Read more

I spent a decade assuring college students starting my classes terrified of books that I gave even less of a shit about the symbolism of the color green than they did.  Read more

Shh. They’re just sleeping.  Read more

I’m referencing the plot of Mysteries of Udolpho, in which a fake Italian nobleman holds a woman hostage so she’ll sign over her Toulouse estate. See, this is exactly why my Gothic Studies in Travel Safety curriculum should be widely adopted. Read more

Thank you! Ashley may be right about everything else, but I stand firm on my opinions about who is fuckable on that show (pretty much everybody except Connor).  Read more

Great question! It does not. Fixed it.  Read more

Shit, what a sentence-changing typo. Fixed it. Thanks.  Read more

His fetid carcass is attracting flies Read more

HE HAS A FLY ON HIS HEAD Read more

Caught him in the old Party of Lincoln trap. Read more

Harris should answer this question by rambling about swine flu and ISIS Read more

A lifetime of experience doing what? Barrett has been a judge for like 45 minutes.  Read more

So Pence just gets to talk whenever he wants.  Read more