Monthly Archives: February 2014

Using Lit to Predict the Weather

Last week, while discussing “The Tempest,” we experienced a literal tempest. Expect cold temperatures today as I’m teaching “Eve of St. Agnes.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Prospero’s Magic, a Model for Fantasy Lit

“The Tempest” fits magically into a fantasy course.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Memorializing Gay Martyrs in Poetry

Uganda’s new anti-gay legislation reminds me of a Mark Doty poem about a Bangor, Maine killing 30 years ago.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

In Defense of Arcane Scholarship

Disciplines may engage in arcane language but they provide the foundation out of which exciting insights emerge.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments closed

“Everybody Wants a Black Man’s Life”

Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” offers a vision of hope for targeted black teens.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Cain: A Positive Way Past Collective Guilt

Nazi perpetrators who turned to Christianity avoided true contrition. Both the story of Cain and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” show how to really get right with God.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Women Hockey Players in a State of Nature

A Robert Bly prose poem about hockey to celebrate the exciting Olympics metal rounds.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

The Super Rich: Great Gatsby Redux

Many of today’s billionaires are as paranoid as Tom Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Out of Denialism and into Responsibility

Denialism such as we are seeing with regard to climate change is well describe in “All the King’s Men.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed