"This delectable banquet of words in "The Painted Word "is a welcome antidote to the bland and pallid pablum that too often passes for language nowadays."- John Michael Greer, author of "Apocalypse Not" "Phil Cousineau takes us on an insightful journey to discover the essence of ideas that form our thoughts and feelings. It's a masterful detective story that crosses continents and centuries to uncover the meaning behind the core elements of our own culture. He reveals how everyday words developed from mythic metaphors, and how many fantastic concepts sprang from hilariously mundane things. Words are how our minds make pictures. The book paints a fascinating landscape of how the history of these tools of thought helps us make sense of the world we live in, and ourselves." -Jeff Hoke, author of "The Museum of Lost Wonder" The masterfulness of "The Painted Word" is its re-telling of lost tales, illustrating the absurdities, tragedies and comedies of words--all through Cousineau's detailed, cinematic storytelling, which includes babbling parrots, bawdy 18th Century lairs, pirate Bugis of ferocious seas, and hundreds of other word stories." -Nick Belardes, author of "Random Obsessions: Trivia You Can't Life Without" "Having opened the treasure chest that is language in "Wordcatcher, " Cousineau joins us in plunging our hands deep into its riches and tossing glittering coins - "Carousel! Monogashi! " - high in the air. "The Painted Word" is a celebration that brings the glamour back to grammar. " -Clint Marsh, author of "The Mentalist's Handbook"

Phil Cousineau is an award-winning writer and filmmaker, teacher and editor, independent scholar and travel leader, storyteller and TV host. His fascination with art, literature, and the history of culture has taken him from Michigan to Marrakesh, Iceland to the Amazon, in a worldwide search for what the ancients called the "soul of the world." Cousineau lectures frequently on a wide spectrum of topics that reflect his mythic journeys, including mythology, movies, writing, mentorship, beauty, travel, sports and creativity. Currently the host of Link TV's "Global Spirit" television series, Cousineau has published 26 nonfiction books and has 15 scriptwriting credits to his name. His books have been translated into nine languages. Born at an army hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, Phil Cousineau grew up just outside of Detroit, once known as "the Paris of the Midwest." While moonlighting in a steel factory he studied journalism at the University of Detroit. Before turning to writing books and films full-time, Cousineau's peripatetic career included stints as a sportswriter, playing semi-pro basketball in Europe, harvesting date trees on an Israeli kibbutz, painting 44 Victorian houses in San Francisco, and teaching screenwriting at the American Film Institute. For the past 25 years he has enjoyed his life-long dream of being a full-time freelance writer, filmmaker and sports coach. An expert on mythology and film and the "hero journey" structure of screenplays, Cousineau consults on writing projects of all kinds.