Neil Gaiman, get out of my head!

Certain language-related themes seem to be calling out to me lately. I think on them even when I try not think on them. For the past couple of years, they've been popping up in my fiction, in critical essays, and in random conversations. I'm no space cowgirl, but I think I may have a mental link with Neil Gaiman. How else could he somehow manage to touch on all of these themes - escapism, child literacy, narrative empathy, and more - in a single lecture he recently gave for The Reading Agency? Mr. Gaiman makes my every point, only more pointedly. So, without further ado, go here and read this most important lecture.