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Forum From the Archives: Complex Emotions Find Names in 'The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows'

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 (Courtesy of John Koenig)

Have you ever felt “slipfast” (a longing to melt into a crowd and become invisible)? Or “scabulous” (proud of a certain scar on your body)? Those are some of the many words John Koenig has created for emotions  we’ve felt all our lives but lacked words to describe. We talk to Koenig about why he says there are vast holes in our emotional lexicon and why it’s important for humans to develop a richer language to describe our interior lives. Koenig’s new book, more than ten years in the making, is “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.”

Guests:

John Koenig, author, "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows"

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