Great Closers of Fiction

Posted on by Michael Kahn
While the Internet teems with posts listing the best opening lines in all of literature, I have learned over years of reading and writing novels that a great opening line is nevertheless overshadowed by the importance of a great closing line. Yes, a great opening line will lure the reader into the novel. But even…
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In Praise of Awe

Posted on by Michael Kahn
It took one of my children, back when he was no more than two or three years old, to teach me the profound truth in that famous line from “My Heart Leaps Up,” William Wordsworth’s poem celebrating the joys of nature: “The Child is father of the Man.” If you want to experience genuine awe,…
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Hoosier Redux: The Hazards of Legal Jargon, i.e., Ipse Dixit

Posted on by Michael Kahn
A short while ago I wrote a blog piece on the strange world of city-specific jargon, inspired by a popular coffee-and-dessert restaurant in Evanston, Illinois, whose name featured a word–HOOSIER–that has a far different (and derogatory) meaning to those of us from St. Louis. (Ironically, although I also mentioned a few classic Boston-specific terms. I…
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“Hoosier” Is in the Eyes of the Beholder

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Strolling down Chicago Avenue south of Main Street in Evanston, I paused in front of Hoosier Mama Pie Company, a beloved local spot for coffee and pastries. But as I gazed up at that sign, I had to smile at how the unique St. Louis definition of “hoosier” would undermine–indeed, torpedo–the cleverness of that name….
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Nailing the Ending: The Hollywood Closer

Posted on by Michael Kahn
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” While those five words that close the movie Chinatown have been widely recognized as one of the great closing lines in motion picture history, to me the power of that final scene underscores the challenge facing authors of works of fiction, where fashioning a compelling closing line is a critical element…
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A Surprise Shout-Out 10 Years Later

Posted on by Michael Kahn
The joy (or, sigh, the bane) of existence for an author is the discovery of a book review of his or her latest novel. The moment you spot that review your stomach tightens, your face winces. You take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and then cautiously, nervously, you read the opening sentence. Is it a…
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Thoughts on My Looming 50th Year College Reunion

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Way back in May of 1974, I graduated from Amherst College. It was a memorable day, including joining three of best friends on the podium for a goofy commencement address to our fellow grads and their parents. That’s me, second from the left, with the telltale 1970s white belt. And like so many of us…
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