A Tea Glass By Any Other Name

If those who have studied the art of writing are in accord on any one point, it is this: the surest way to arouse and hold the reader’s attention is by being specific, definite, and concrete. The greatest writers–Homer, Dante, Shakespeare–are effective largely because they deal in particulars and report the details that matter. Their…

Atmosphere Theory

Now look at that old church. And them old houses. Did George Washington ever sleep here? Of course he did. This whole neighborhood just stinks with atmosphere. –Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Brooklyn–of all places–“stinks with atmosphere” in Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace. The main commercial streets off the central square once held a full…