There may be no more ardent disciple of literature today than John Freeman, founder of Freeman’s anthology of new writing and the former editor of Granta. In his new Dictionary of the Undoing, he takes exception to what he sees as a great affront in these agitated times—an assault on language that’s robbing words of the meanings they once had.

Freeman joins local novelist and Writers at Work series organizer Whitney Terrell in a discussion of the book and its call for literary activism. Dictionary spotlights 26 essential words, from “agitate” to “zygote,” building a case for their renewed power and authority. “We need to grab the words that have possibility in them,” Freeman writes, “and begin using them anew.”

The Writers at Work series is co-sponsored by the Writers at Work Round Table and the UMKC English Department.