The author Kory Stamper finds absorbing information irresistible.
In our feature story “Defining Curiosity,” Stamper explains that she was already doing part of her job as a lexicographer — reading anything with words on it — as a child. “I was the kid that would read the cereal box, read the milk carton, then read the cereal box again,” she tells Emily Melvin. So it seems perfectly logical that her fascination with words and language would eventually lead her to become an author and editor of dictionaries, including at Merriam-Webster.
How she came to write and publish two books — including “True Color: The Strange and Spectacular History of Defining Color From Azure to Zinc Pink,” published this spring by Penguin Random House — is more unexpected, especially since she considers herself a slow writer. Ultimately, though, curiosity itself seems to have been the driving force.
I’m also interested in the psychology of the other people featured in this issue.
“Making Waves,” Michelle Kaminsky’s profile of two outstanding swimmers at Haddon Township High School, explores how senior Ryan Quinn, sophomore Shelby Hutchinson, and head coach Maura McDermott have achieved success both in and out of the pool. I’m struck, too, by how good-natured the three seem. Despite being fearsome competitors, they radiate an optimistic, can-do spirit and project that feeling of being a team — something that comes through clearly in Doug McConnell’s photographs.
Debra Wallace also talks with Vince DiPasquale, the founder of StartingPoint, a nonprofit wellness center built on the belief that no one seeking help for addiction or mental health challenges should ever be turned away because of a lack of resources. StartingPoint began when DiPasquale, a former Catholic priest, opened a single halfway house for alcoholics in Philadelphia in 1977. He remains inspired by the energy of the people who supported him early on and believed in what he was trying to do. At its core, the mission of StartingPoint is about paying it forward. And fittingly, along the way, miracles have appeared whenever the organization found itself in a financial bind.
I find myself interested in what motivates people — what keeps them curious, resilient, ambitious, or hopeful over time — and these stories stayed with me because of what they reveal.
Enjoy!
