You might recognize the name “Martha Barnette” from the public radio show and podcast A Way with Words.
She has spent some two decades as the co-host of that show—a public radio fan favorite.
Every week, she and her co-host, Grant Barrett, answer calls and questions about language—about word etymology, slang phrases, idioms. They also listen to what callers have to say about their families and personal lives and the features of language baked into experiences of all kinds.
Now, Martha Barnette shares her own language story. Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland is something of a linguistic memoir.
While it is still very much about language and the types of topics that keep us all glued to our radios (at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings on KSTX 89.1 in San Antonio) we also learn about Barnette’s own story and the ways in which her love of language took root and grew.
From her Appalachian roots, her educator parents, her private classes in Ancient Greek with a beloved polyglot professor to the path that led her inexorably behind the microphone—Barnette’s own story is still very much a story about language and its endlessly fascinating features and topics.
Guest:
Martha Barnette is the author of Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland.
She is a longtime journalist, dynamic public speaker, and cohost of the popular radio show and podcast A Way with Words. She is the author of A Garden of Words, Ladyfingers & Nun’s Tummies, and Dog Days and Dandelions.
