On writing columns

Columns can range all over the place, from the profound to the trivial and every place inbetween. Columnists are driven by curiosity. Usually they don’t work from press releases.

Verlyn Klinkenborg has one such piece in today’s NY Times. It’s about going to the barbershop. It’s as feathery and light as a souffle. Klinkenborg frequently writes such signed pieces for the Times editorial page, often about the changing seasons, his drive across America and so forth. They provide a welcome relief to the heavy subjects that dominate the page.

Here’s another columnist who deserves to be read and listened to by University of Houston students: John Lienhard, a retired engineering professor who writes and broadcasts The Engines of Our Ingenuity.   Maybe you’ve heard John’s broadcasts on the KUHF radio. Each three-minute long piece is no more than 500 words long, and they’re all on his website. John’s father was a columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Maybe he learned to write by just hanging around with him. But what drives the episodes is his curiosity in how things work, how they were invented. I’ve done two episodes for “Engines,” and learned a lot in doing them. I’d be intensely proud of any student who could write one good enough that he would broadcast it. He’s the best journalist at the University of Houston. If you haven’t heard him, try one of his podcasts.

The last columnist I’m promoting here is Frank Deford, a Sports Illustrated writer who does a Wednesday morning broadcast on Morning Edition for NPR,. He’s a great story teller.

Why am I emphasizing two writers who appear on radio? Because writing a column is all about voice. By voice I mean writing and speaking with assurance, character, emphasis and naturalness. Naturalness is the hardest thing. Once you learn how to fake that– to paraphrase a famous movie producer on sincerety–you’ve got it made.