Tag Archives: fathers and sons

A Li-Young Lee Poem for Father’s Day

By Robin Bates | Published: June 15, 2023

Li-Young Lee has written the perfect poem for Father’s Day.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

English Patient Taught Me about My Father

By Robin Bates | Published: June 1, 2023

“The English Patient” has given me a valuable new perspective on my father–which is another good reason why we should all read novels.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Roth and the Hamline Mess

By Robin Bates | Published: January 17, 2023

Roth’s “Human Stain” has lessons for Hamline’s recent mess-up over an art teacher. It has also given me a new perspective on my two sons.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

On Fathers & Sons & Things Fall Apart

By Robin Bates | Published: June 22, 2022

In a recent talk with my oldest son, I suddenly realized I was replicating my father’s relationship with me. I also found myself identifying with characters in Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , | Comments closed

A Father’s Day Poem about Tenderness

By Robin Bates | Published: June 17, 2021

For upcoming Father’s Day, here’s a poem about father tenderness by Li-Young Lee.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Carrying a Candle against the Wind

By Robin Bates | Published: April 25, 2020

A simple Wendell Berry poem/prayer asks for help in keeping a candle alight against the wind.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Illness in 19th Century Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: March 24, 2020

19th century literature is filled with images of illness. Reading it should make us grateful to the advances in medical science.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Mentor: Rare for Sons to Be Like Fathers

By Robin Bates | Published: December 30, 2019

Homer explores the difficulty of a young man living up to his famous father. It’s a problem that continues with fathers and sons.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Federer and Father Time

By Robin Bates | Published: September 5, 2018

In which I compare Federer’s upset loss to the final stage of an up and down disease, such as that described in Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed