Sep. 27, 2008: The Writer's Almanac

Saturday’s Poem: “Smoke and Ash” by David Budbill from While We’ve Still Got Feet. Saturday’s Literary Notes: A plethora of words surrounding pleasure and pastime come to us by way of French, including the word pleasure itself, from Old French plaisir, “to please.” Delight, too, is derived from Old French delitier, “to charm, allure, please.” Later, in English, the verb took on the function of a noun as well. It’s the basis for the word “delicate” as well as a bounty of food-related words,…