In his day job, Steven Clayman is professor of sociology and communication studies at UCLA. He likes to think that his dabblings in light verse and wordplay are at least loosely related to his research specialization in conversation analysis and the study of language use in everyday life. He has published widely in linguistics, communication, and sociology journals, and is the author (with John Heritage) of Talk in Action (Wiley-Blackwell) and The News Interview (Cambridge University Press).