Linguist
Some of my graduate work at the University of Kentucky was in linguistics, including courses in history of the English language (by Kevin Kiernan) and American English dialects (by Jean Pival). I have used linguistics as a tool in investigating the authenticity of questioned texts, such as the Beale treasure papers (Mysterious Realms, 1992, 53-67); questioned authorship, such as the famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (Manuscripts journal 54:4 [Fall 2002], 293-308; 55:1 [Winter 2003], 5-15); and Abraham Lincoln's celebrated Bixby letter (Unsolved History, 2005, 90-105); and other cases. I am a member of the International Association of Forensic Linguists.
