This year more than usual, those of you who wrote to me asked where you should find hope. Where you should find joy. Where, at a minimum, you should find a reprieve. In language. That's one of my answers. To read what some of the most talented writers can do is to be reassured of human ingenuity, human sensitivity, human spark. We're a cunning and capable species, even if we spend much of our time (and many of our elections) trying to prove otherwise.
As I reviewed the passages of journalism featured in the For the Love of Sentences section of my Times Opinion newsletter in 2024 so that I could showcase anew (and put a holiday-season bow on) some of the best ones, I had my faith in humanity restored. Well, somewhat. I smiled. I laughed. I also cursed a few of the authors for a verbal wizardry denied most of us mortals, but it was an appreciative cursing.
Thank you very much. Without further ado, here they are: words worth revisiting. Words worth keeping. Their forebears appeared in the Best Sentences of 2023. I'll start rounding up their descendants in 2025. Meantime, happy reading and Happy New Year.
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