Plosives are the cutest of all language sounds. They can be made with the lips, the tongue or the glottis. In making a plosive, the vocal tract closes and suspends all flows of air, the motion is held for a moment, and the air is released.
The motion brings with it the pride and satisfaction of expulsion. Tension and release.
Plosives can be voiced (b, d, g) or unvoiced (p, t, k). To be voiced also requires the vibration of the vocal cords.
See: Death is a dialogue between the spirit and the dust. “Dissolve,” says Death.
See: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
See: keep on, keep on, keep on, carrying keepsakes to the boys, carrying powders to the boys, carrying, my Linda, blood to the bloodletter.
I name my newsletter for the relationship between language and body, our attempts to chart the unknowable landscape of our thoughts and our efforts to share those thoughts through words.
