Meditations on words and poems and language...McEntyre gives us 12 strategies to cherish our language, to respect its power, and to pay homage to its grandeur. Published in 2008, it's more timely today than ever...with discourse being coarsened, with lies being brazenly tossed about.

"Caring for language is a moral issue" in our society, and we must stand strong against those who manipulate words and people for their own purposes. She tells us that what passes for public discourse is "ad hominem, argument, accusation, smear campaigns, hyperbole, broken promises, distortions, and lies (of COURSE she uses the Oxford comma!!)."

The strategies for caring for words? Love words, Tell the truth, Don't tolerate lies, Stay in conversation, Share stories, Love the long sentence, Practice poetry, Attend to translation, Play, Pray, and Cherish silence.

What if we all promised, in our private lives and public lives, to use these strategies? What if we expected our policy makers to use these strategies?

McEntyre talks often about her classes, and that made me wish I could just sit in, and listen.