We can see our current electoral politics, and the threats to social order, in Shakespeare’s “Tempest.”
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Author Archives: Robin Bates
The Tempest and Our Own Coup Attempts
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged DJT, electoral politics, Tempest, William Shakespeare Leave a comment
A Love Poem to a Long Marriage
A love poem from my wife, which I share on our 53rd wedding anniversary.
Trump Christians Worship Moloch
While Sen. Mike Lee has accused Texas senate candidate Talarico of being in thrall to Maloch, Ginsberg’s “Howl” shows that the real Moloch is the America Lee desires.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alan Ginsberg, Howl, James Talarico, Maloch, William Blake Leave a comment
Something Funny Happened Along My Career Path
Looking back over my academic career, I explore a regret over not having achieved more as a literary scholar.
Shaq on Homer’s Basketball Lessons
At LSU, Shaq O’Neal recently wrote a thesis on mentorship in the Odyssey. I imagine the basketball examples he might have used.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Homer, leadership, mentorship, Odyssey, Shaquille O'Neal Leave a comment
A Book Fair in War-Torn Ukraine
Kyiv continued to hold its annual book festival this year despite Russian attacks. In Ukraine, book publication is seen as self-defense and reading as resistance.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged “Local Heroes", Book Arsenal, genocide, Russia-Ukraine War, Thomas Lynch, Ukraine Leave a comment
“Parasite and Tool of a Proud Tyrant”
Dickens’s “Dombey and Son” captures the relationship between a tyrant and his sycophant—not unlike what we are seeing in the White House these days.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, Donald Trump, sycophants Leave a comment
Aslan’s Song of Creation
In the recently published “The Green Worlds of C.S. Lewis,” John Gatta says that Lewis has a vision of God’s creation as one that is always unfolding, never static.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged C.S. Lewis, creation story, Green Worlds of C.S. Lewis, John Gatta, Magician’s Nephew Leave a comment