Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856) Born into slavery, Washington was freed following the US Civil War and went on to become one of the nation’s most prominent leaders and educators. He built Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute into a leading African-American educational institution, […]

Art for art’s sake? I should think so, and more so than ever at the present time. It is the one orderly product which our middling race has produced. It is the cry of a thousand sentinels, the echo from […]

flagellate Definition: (verb) To whip or flog. Synonyms: scourge Usage: The prisoner was flagellated for his recent escape attempt. Discuss.  

Bettina von Arnim (1785) A German writer, von Arnim also spent time as a composer, singer, visual artist, patron of young talent, and social activist. However, she is perhaps best known for the company she kept. She formed friendships with […]

It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on […]

efface Definition: (verb) Remove completely from recognition or memory. Synonyms: obliterate Usage: Allow me to propose a remedy, to efface the shame, and to render it as if not done. Discuss.  

George Herbert (1593) Herbert was a British metaphysical poet, ordained priest and rector, and Cambridge University orator. His poetry was entirely unpublished at the time of his death and was bequeathed to Nicholas Ferrar, who had the collection published as […]

It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)  

congee Definition: (verb) A Chinese rice gruel eaten for breakfast. Synonyms: jook Usage: When the weather is cold, I like to drive to Chinatown first thing in the morning and enjoy a steaming hot bowl of congee. Discuss.