Martha Barnette

Martha Barnette (born November 18, 1957) is an American writer, radio host, and public speaker. She is the co-host and co-producer of ''A Way with Words'', a weekly, hour-long show about language broadcast nationally in the United States, and is the author of four books, three of them about etymology.

Early life and education

Barnette was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Helen and Henlee Hulix Barnette. Her father was a Baptist minister and professor of Christian ethics and her mother a teacher. After attending Stetson University and Vanderbilt University, she graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in English in 1981. She subsequently did graduate work in classical languages at the University of Kentucky and studied Spanish at the ILISA Language Institute in Costa Rica.

Career

Writing

After college, Barnette worked as a journalist at ''The Washington Post'', ''The Louisville Times'' and ''The Courier-Journal'' in Louisville. In the mid 1980s she wrote several stories for the Washington Times about cardiac surgeon William DeVries, the first person to implant a whole artificial heart intended to be permanent, and in particular his second patient, Bill Schroeder and the Schroeder family. After Schroeder's death in August 1986, Barnette suggested the idea of a book about the story to his family. They worked with Barnette on the book, which was published in July 1987 as ''The Bill Schroeder Story: An Artificial Heart Patient's Historic Ordeal and the Amazing Family Effort that Supported Him''. A ''Chicago Tribune'' review described the idea of the book as a "good one" but felt the execution to be "a bit indulgent", while the Courier-Journal described it as "straightforward but highly evocative".

Barnette has published three books on the origins of words: ''A Garden of Words'' in 1992, ''Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies'' in 1997 and ''Dog Days and Dandelions'' in 2003. The books are themed around flowers, food and animals, respectively. Selecting ''Ladyfingers'' as one of the best non-fiction books of 1997, the ''Los Angeles Times'' described it as "a tour de force", and said that ''A Garden of Words'' had been a "fascinating study". ''People'' described it as "amusing". ''Publishers Weekly'' thought ''Dog Days'' was a "sprightly compendium".

As a freelance journalist, Barnette has contributed articles to magazines including Glamour and Reader's Digest.

Radio

Since 2004, Barnette has co-hosted ''A Way with Words'', a call-in show about language. Initially her co-host was author Richard Lederer. Lederer left the show in October 2006 and since January 2007 Barnette has hosted the show with lexicographer Grant Barrett.

Barnette, Barrett and senior producer Stefanie Levine founded the 501(c)(3) organization Wayword, Inc., to fund and produce ''A Way with Words'' after KPBS-FM, which had originally produced it, withdrew support. To operate Wayword, Inc. successfully, Barnette studied for a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Bibliography

* ''The Bill Schroeder Story: An Artificial Heart Patient's Historic Ordeal and the Amazing Family Effort that Supported Him'' (1987, with the Schroeder family)
* ''A Garden of Words'' (1992)
* ''Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies: A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names'' (1997)
* ''Dog Days and Dandelions: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words'' (2003)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnette, Martha
20th-century American women writers
American women journalists
American radio DJs
American women radio presenters
1957 births
Writers from Louisville, Kentucky
Radio personalities from Louisville, Kentucky
Journalists from Kentucky
Living people
Vassar College alumni
University of Kentucky alumni
Kentucky women writers
LGBT people from Kentucky
LGBT women
American LGBT writers
21st-century American women