Robert Alter talks about translating the Hebrew Bible
CMOS: You have now translated a large portion of the Hebrew Bible into English. What motivated you to take on such an enormous, high-profile, high-stakes project?
Section 13.7 in the Spotlight
A good rule of thumb is that changes to quotations are not permitted, period. So much is at stake when we present the words of someone else, whether spoken or written, and responsibility lies with the quoter to render what was said accurately and in a fair context. The actual wording of the quotation must be reproduced exactly. Yet CMOS 13.7 lists half a dozen things that are OK to change when quoting.
Learning from Comics: Matt Upson and Mike Hall talk about teaching research through graphic novels
Matt Upson, assistant professor and director of library undergraduate services at Oklahoma State University, and C. Michael Hall (Mike) Hall, a writer, cartoonist, and public speaker, sought a better way to teach these students how to do research. Together with cartoonist Kevin Cannon, they created Information Now: A Graphic Guide to Student Research. It’s the first graphic novel to tackle information literacy and also the first graphic novel published by the University of Chicago Press.
Sections 6.124–26 in the Spotlight
Many writers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A ask how to format lists, and two questions are especially popular:
Preeti Malani talks about her career in journalism, medicine, and . . . journalism
CMOS: How did medical school happen after you seemed set for a career in journalism? Was it your intention all along to combine the two?
Great-Grandma’s CMOS
A look back to 1906, when the more straitlaced 1st edition of the Manual offered intriguing punctuation!, puzzling spaces ?, and curious examples . . .
Section 2.52 in the Spotlight
As a writer or editor, how many times have you heard “The main thing is to be consistent”? When it comes to hyphenating, capitalizing, italicizing, and other style choices, the best way to carry through on consistency is to keep a style sheet.
CMOS Challenge
Quiz 2: Which is not Chicago style?
CMOS takes a break with John Perry and The Art of Procrastination
John Perry is emeritus professor of philosophy at Stanford University and the author of The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawding, Lollygaggy and Postponing. In it, he points out that many successful people are actually “structured” procrastinators—those who get a lot done by not doing other things. In it, he points out . . .
Do you know your misles from your mondegreens?
Language has the power to both delight and confuse, and there are names for some of our most common confusions. Here are a few linguistic gaffes you will surely recognize, even if you’ve never heard their names.
