Tag Archives: Song of Solomon

Florida School Pulls Paradise Lost

By Robin Bates | Published: January 11, 2024

A Florida County has pulled “Paradise Lost” from the shelves. It’s true that the work has “sexual content.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Bacchae, Book banning, canon wars, censorship, Euripides, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Ron DeSantis, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

Morrison on the Death of Emmett Till

By Robin Bates | Published: July 25, 2023

In “Song of Solomon,” Morrison has the men in the community grapple with what the death of Emmett Till means.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Civil Rights Movement, Emmett Till, racism, Ron DeSantis, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

Lit that Features the N-Word: What to Do

By Robin Bates | Published: March 6, 2023

Now to teach White literature that employs the n-word? Balance with Black literature.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Absalom Absalom!, Beloved, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, n-word, racism, To Kill a Mockingbird, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner | Comments closed

The Ecstasy of Flight

By Robin Bates | Published: November 30, 2022

Returning to the States, I am put in mind of flying images in Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” and Magee’s poem “High Flight.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "High Flight (Airman's Ecstasy)", Flying, John Gillespie Magee, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

On Ramadan and Song of Solomon

By Robin Bates | Published: May 1, 2022

A Pakistani student gained special insight into Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” from his Ramadan fasting.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Eid al-Fitr, Ramadan, roots quest, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

Toni Morrison’s Flying Lessons

By Robin Bates | Published: October 11, 2021

After flying with a newly licensed student, I shared passages on flying from Morrison’s “Song of Solomon.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged flight, Flying, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

When Hate Groups Devour Their Own

By Robin Bates | Published: January 18, 2021

Conspiratorial hate is feeding on itself. Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates both describe the process.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 2020 election, Capitol Hill insurrection, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

Harris’s Literary Favs Reveal a Vibrant Soul

By Robin Bates | Published: November 16, 2020

Kamala Harris’s favorite lit reveals a woman engaging in foundational exploration, especially regarding race and gender.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Amy Tan, C. S. Lewis, immigrants, Joy Luck Club, Kamala Harris, Khaled Hosseini, Kite Runner, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Native Son, race relations, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison | Comments closed

Covid Costs Us Loved Ones’ Final Words

By Robin Bates | Published: July 12, 2020

Among the many tragedies related to Covid is how family and friends are missing out on final words. Many literary works touch on the importance of this last encounter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Aeschylus, Agamemnon, COVID-19, death and dying, death bed words, Henry Fielding, Richard II, Tom Jones, Toni Morrison, William Shakespeare | Comments closed