Word News

"Columnist William Safire Dies" by Jeff Holley for the Washington Post. Published in the Spokesman Review.

William Safire died at age 79 from pancreatic cancer. Safire was a conservative columnist for the New York Times and wrote a column for the New York Times Sunday magazine called "On Language" about grammar and the origins of words. He also wrote more than a dozen books on the subject. Safire also won the Pulitzer Prize and wrote speeches for President Nixon. He was quesitoned by collegues whether this would effect his ability to write for the Times.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/sep/28/celebrated-columnist-william-safire-dies/

"Author hopes genius grant will shine on Haiti" by Jonathan M. Katz, published in the Seattle Times

Writer Edwidge Danticat received the "genius grant" ($500,000 over the next five years) from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She hopes it will bring attention to "the wealth of talent struggling to be heard in Haiti." One of her earlier novels, "Breath, Eyes, Memory" was an Oprah's Book Club pick.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2009926388_apcbhaitigeniusgrant.html