Words, for Good and Ill
Review of: Voices of History: Speeches that Changed the World by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Most speechwriters would likely not know the name Mettius Pompusianus, but perhaps they should. Mettius was one …
Corporate speechwriting, then and now
By the time he wrote his novel, Chronicles of Doodah, George Lee Walker was one disillusioned speechwriter. Having worked for Michigan Governors George Romney and William Milliken, President Gerald Ford, Ford …
The Oratory of a People
Review of: The Will of a People: A Critical Anthology of Great African American Speeches, edited by Richard W. Leeman and Bernard K. Duffy (2012). “A great speech,” wrote the noted …
“A Promised Land”: A Speechwriter’s Take
In the days when former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was churning out books under his name just about every year, some people wondered how he could write so fast. “Ha. …
The Luckiest Scribe
Review of The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain by Mark Salter – Simon & Schuster, 2020 “Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but are enlarged by serving good …
Of Poets and Speechwriters
Review of: Dispatches from the Republic of Letters – 50 Years of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, edited by Daniel Simon (release date: Oct 20, 2020) Over a long career as …
Dead, or just resting? A contemplation of how speeches contribute to leaders’ legacies
Review of: Talking Up a Legacy: Australian Prime Ministers and the Speeches We Remember Them By by Tom Clark, Associate Professor, Victoria University (Melbourne, Australia) “Stop trying to make every speech a …
A ‘Big Tent’ Approach to Making Speeches: A Collection of Jesse Jackson’s Speeches and Sermons
Review of: Keeping Hope Alive: Sermons and Speeches of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.; by Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., edited by Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim “I’ve never really felt there was much …