LanguaTalk

TreeHouseLetter

Rise above the tedium and join me in the TreeHouse. Sharing the best ideas and writing, MyLinh Shattan has a particular fondness for words, music, and the power of story. “I adore your podcasts; each and every one is a little gem. You never say three words when two will do. Everything you do shows unusual respect and appreciation for your listeners’ time and intelligence.” Buzz, former Managing Editor for News and Public Affairs Programming at WHRB-FM/Harvard Radio Broadcasting

Old Boys Rugby: "Scum of the Earth" Sings Second

5 mins; March 31, 2026

Tsundoku and Goodreaads giveaway

4 mins; March 25, 2026

Stick Season, 10000 Hours, and a Book on the Way

6 mins; March 16, 2026

Punch, Roll, and Breathe: The Art of Audiobook Narration

7 mins; March 08, 2026

The Man in Row 9

8 mins; January 30, 2026

On Fathers and Storytelling: The Merchant of Saigon

4 mins; January 07, 2026

Poetry for Emergencies: Love Fiercely

3 mins; December 05, 2025

When Life is Like a Country Music Song

4 mins; November 26, 2025

In the Bardo: Referring to the Dead in the Present Tense

5 mins; September 11, 2025

Saigon, 50 Years Ago Today

10 mins; April 30, 2025

In Search of the Blue flower

8 mins; March 24, 2025

You're Not Wasting Your Time . . .

12 mins; March 12, 2025

Sirsasana, King of Asanas

4 mins; February 24, 2025

The Monk, the Nun, and the Poet

7 mins; February 03, 2025

Nice or Not-so-nice? A $14,000 Dress

5 mins; January 21, 2025

Ichigo Ichie: One Time, One Meeting

11 mins; January 11, 2025

Water, Water: A Year-end Muse

4 mins; January 02, 2025

Giving Thanks for Civility

4 mins; November 27, 2024

Giving Thanks for Civility

4 mins; November 27, 2024

A Sutra on Solitude

6 mins; November 21, 2024

An Angel Number, 1111

5 mins; November 11, 2024

Why an 84-Year-Old Goes to the Polls

5 mins; November 05, 2024

An Omen and 3 Ravens

7 mins; October 29, 2024

They'll Grow In Their Own Sunlight

6 mins; October 18, 2024

Living on Hot Dogs

10 mins; October 09, 2024

Dinner with Obama

12 mins; September 26, 2024

Queen Amahn, the Third Circle of Hell

7 mins; September 23, 2024

St. Louis and the Sublime

10 mins; September 10, 2024

My Car and a Helicopter Got in a Fight

8 mins; September 03, 2024

"These United Colonies . . . are Free and Independent States"

10 mins; July 05, 2024

A Stoic on Stupidity and Plumbing

6 mins; July 03, 2024

The Curse of the Bootlegger's Daughter

9 mins; July 03, 2024

Northeast by Northwest: How Travel Changes Me*

8 mins; July 03, 2024

"Well-Intentioned Fools"

3 mins; July 03, 2024

Memorial Day Speech: We're Here Today Because They Lived

11 mins; July 03, 2024

"We Lived, Felt Dawn, Saw Sunset Glow"

5 mins; July 03, 2024

That Teacher, You Know the One

9 mins; July 03, 2024

Midwest Mandala

4 mins; July 03, 2024

Semper Fidelis

6 mins; July 03, 2024

On Poetry, Spring, and Transition

5 mins; July 03, 2024

Small Delight: The Unexpected and the Good

5 mins; July 03, 2024

Dirtman and Dillard on Signs of the Apocalypse

10 mins; April 11, 2024

Deez Nutz*

8 mins; March 26, 2024

Who Does Not Prefer Civility to Barbarism?*

9 mins; March 18, 2024

How to Improve Your Writing - Part 2: from Confucius to Lincoln

12 mins; March 12, 2024

What Men Live By*

11 mins; March 04, 2024

How to Improve Your Writing - Part 1

13 mins; February 26, 2024

Superior to the Saint, the Scientist, the Philosopher, and the Poet?

10 mins; February 13, 2024

An Alabama Road

6 mins; February 04, 2024

Town Mouse and Country Mouse

12 mins; January 22, 2024

Living Outside the Page

8 mins; January 08, 2024

Books for the Casual and Serious Reader

10 mins; December 20, 2023

Involved and Implicated: Narcissism and Poetry

9 mins; December 11, 2023

Giving Thanks for a Man I Never Met

6 mins; November 21, 2023

On Flesh-Eating Beetles and the Sins of the Mother

11 mins; November 15, 2023

In the Company of Heroes

7 mins; November 08, 2023

Spooky Hour with Spirits of the Dead

7 mins; November 01, 2023

What's in your trunk?

9 mins; October 23, 2023

Why Do I Run?

10 mins; October 12, 2023

Fall is Like a Country Music Song

5 mins; October 01, 2023

Trailway to Heaven

5 mins; September 24, 2023

Through the Keyhole

6 mins; September 20, 2023

The Ever Restless Soul

7 mins; September 10, 2023

Confusables, Contronyms, and Jane's Potato Salad

5 mins; September 05, 2023

The Music in Stories: Pavan on Borges

10 mins; September 01, 2023

Beyond Grade-School Sentences: Adding Depth and Texture to Writing

7 mins; August 22, 2023

On Theft, Death, and the Moon

7 mins; August 14, 2023

The Master Sentence and the Centenarian

10 mins; August 06, 2023

Three Days in Sun Valley and the Best Writing Teacher

6 mins; July 29, 2023

Classic Prose: Thought and Presentation

7 mins; July 24, 2023

Biblical Times - Fire and Flood

4 mins; July 24, 2023

July 4th Declarations: a Nation, a Panda, a Soldier

11 mins; July 04, 2023

Goggins, Pushup Yoga, and the Art of the Paragraph

10 mins; June 29, 2023

Where's Your Cathedral?

4 mins; June 21, 2023

Degree of Separation

7 mins; June 11, 2023

What makes a speech great?

3 mins; June 11, 2023

"It is precisely because life is so precious to me that I am prepared to die."

8 mins; May 26, 2023

The Cure for Resentment and Cynicsim

4 mins; May 22, 2023

Weasel Words

4 mins; May 15, 2023

What makes a single person's death feel large?*

7 mins; May 05, 2023

Wild Horses Dragged Me Away

4 mins; April 28, 2023

Go Slow to Go Fast

3 mins; April 08, 2023

Sleep on It: Darkness Helps Us See the Light

8 mins; March 27, 2023

A Day With the Night Stalkers

12 mins; March 20, 2023

Hey, why aren't dogs alcoholics?

1 min; March 20, 2023

The Edgeless Sound and the Night Owl

5 mins; March 05, 2023

Belief is a Powerful Elixir

6 mins; February 27, 2023

Presciption for Life and Rumi's Cow

3 mins; February 23, 2023

Two Things Everybody's Got to Do

4 mins; February 11, 2023

Good Luck and Smooth Sailing in the Year of the Cat

5 mins; February 06, 2023

How to Capture a Life in 400 Words

6 mins; January 14, 2023

Punch In, Punch Out: the Profession and the Side Hustle

6 mins; January 09, 2023

Pithy and Practical - Time in Memoir

9 mins; January 03, 2023

Giving Thanks for Dissent and Cookies

6 mins; November 30, 2022

On Perfect Love and Longing

8 mins; November 15, 2022

"Kinda This, Kinda That" in the Mid-pack

7 mins; November 06, 2022

What to Say When People Thank You for Your Military Service

5 mins; October 13, 2022

Everyone Should Write

4 mins; October 03, 2022

What can music teach us about writing?

16 mins; October 03, 2022

Reading for Foodies: Zauner's memoir, Crying in H-Mart

11 mins; September 15, 2022

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