Welcome to Mirinda Writes, which was the moniker for my Spectator columns. Because I got so much feedback from my print columns and radio essays, I decided to give them an afterlife on the Web.
The columns you will see on this site were published biweekly in The Spectator, from September, 1999, until May, 2000. Writing a regular column was a satisfying and occasionally stressful experience. I stopped in 2000 because of the demands of my day job. There is also a section containing my radio commentaries for WUNC-FM. Over several years, I taped about 25 radio essays but only a few are up on the site. Eventually, you will see more.
I’ve written articles for TIME, Psychology Today, Self, and Discover magazines as well as travel articles and features for newspapers such as the News & Observer and the Louisville Courier Journal. I’ve written on topics ranging from travel to health, science, law and medicine as well as personality profiles.
I’ve also taught ‘writing the personal essay’ for Duke Continuing Education and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Teaching writing is always a two-way transfer of knowledge. I learned a lot from my students.
I hope you enjoy some of the writing on this site. If you feel so inclined, send me your comments at mkossoff@mirindak.com. I welcome your feedback.Mirinda