I know I risk sounding like an English teacher when I use the words “figurative language.” The phrase may sound frightening but figurative language will make your writing more interesting evocative and memorable. And who doesn’t want that –even in non-fiction? Here are some examples of figurative language:
• allusion
• hyperbole
• metaphor
• oxymoron
• personification
• paradox
• simile
I read widely and follow many forms of media, keeping my eyes and ears attuned to figurative language so I can share a piece of it with you each week.
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about metaphors from Claire Keegan…. Claire Keegan is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, Granta, and The Paris Review. In 2023 she was […]
The figurative language of Claire Keegan… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Mary Gaitskill… Is it possible to loathe a book and yet still be overwhelmingly impressed by the author? That is certainly how I felt after reading the
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes by Jonathan Coe…. Jonathan Coe is an English novelist and writer interested in political issues, satire and music. A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, he taught at the University of
The figurative language of Jonathan Coe… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes and metaphors from Lori Gottlieb…. When I hear about a book five times in less than a week, that author gets my attention. California-based psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb (pictured above) must
The figurative language of Lori Gottlieb… Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Sy Montgomery… Described by the Boston Globe as, “part Indiana Jones and part Emily Dickinson,” Sy Montgomery is an American naturalist, author and scriptwriter. She writes about
The figurative language of Sy Montgomery… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes from Kate Atkinson… I became a fan of the English novelist Kate Atkinson many years ago when I read her 1995 Whitbread-winning book, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I also
The figurative language of Kate Atkinson… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from author Matthew Walker…. I’ve had troubled sleep for as long as I can remember. I had a hard time falling asleep as a child; I had
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Vinson Cunningham… Vinson Cunningham is a staff writer and a theatre critic at The New Yorker and is currently a teacher in the MFA Writing program at
The figurative language of Vinson Cunningham…. Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from American writer Patricia Hampl…. The book was lying on my bedside table, and my husband happened to glance at it. “What a great title!” he said. The
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Caitlin Moran… The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism calls Caitlin Moran (pictured above) the most influential British journalist on Twitter. Although this
The figurative language of Caitlin Moran… Read More »
