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1/12 Women's Words: Jocelyn Pihlaja

Women's Words on January 12, 2014 featured Duluthian Jocelyn Pihlaja's fond memories of a visit to the Greek ruins at Efes during her 2010 sabbatical in Turkey.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-1031210.mp3

1/12 Women's Words: Jocelyn Pihlaja

When Jocelyn headed off to college, she avowed, "I'm going to be a lawyer." Then she took her first political science class and was forced to concede, "Except I hate this stuff."

Lacking direction and major, she drifted through thoughts of sociology and psychology, meandering through the disciplines, until one day she recalled, "Hey, didn't I read The Good Earth sixteen times in fifth grade? Didn't I read Gone with the Wind twenty-six times that same year? Didn't I have my mind blown by Henry James and Tolstoy before I even understood what they were writing about? Could it be what I really love are books...and words?"

It could. Eventually, English major and degrees in hand, she began teaching writing at the college level, a career she's enjoyed since 1991. Since then, she's gained a husband who cooks dinner every night, kids who hold up hands requesting "silence" when their reading is interrupted, and a blog, O Mighty Crisis.

Women's Words airs Sundays at 1:30pm and 3:30pm. Funding for Women's Words is provided by The Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Chris Harwood is The North 1033’s Production Director and (acting) Program Director, a morning/daytime host, and the host of Soul Village. He is also a musician, a music historian, an audio engineer, and an avid record collector.
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