# Sarah L. Kaufman on the shared rhythm of dance, critical writing, and finding better verbs Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writing-and-finding-better-verbs Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writing-and-finding-better-verbs.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-08-20T07:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writi Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a7d34047d85cbdf96c630d8/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writing-and-finding-better-verbs Duration seconds: 976 ## Resource 1213. Pulitzer-Prize-winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman goes deeper into her journey from the "Washington Post" copy desk to the world of professional dance criticism. We look at how writing about an art form is the ultimate exercise in verb selection, why our brains physically react to words like "meander" or "zigzag," and how to find the "zing" in your writing by juxtaposing unusual adverbs with everyday actions. This was originally a bonus episode for Grammarpaloozians in April, Learn more at Patreon.com/GrammarGirl. Find Sarah L. Kaufman at  sarahlkaufman.com Get  Sarah’s books, “Verb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Art of Grace” A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the   newsletter . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writing-and-finding-better-verbs/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/sarah-l-kaufman-on-the-shared-rhythm-of-dance-critical-writing-and-finding-better-verbs.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.