Monthly Archives: November 2011

Read Blake, Stand Up to Your Boss

Businessman David Whyte turns to poetry to hold on to his soul in the corporate world.

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Fired by Happy Valley, JoPa Is No Aeneas

Just as Rasselas questions Samuel Johnson’s Happy Valley, so do Penn State students find themselves questioning their own Happy Valley after the child abuse scandal. Coach Joe Paterno admired Aeneas, and many feel abandoned like Queen Dido.

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Crowd Intoxication and the Call of the Gods

Athena visiting Odysseus at a critical point in battle represents the sort of intuitive decisions that we associate with great athletes and geniuses.

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The Intrusion of an Overwhelming Joy

Advent is a time for waiting and listening for a message from God. Jarman describes having once experienced it and feeling driven to find it again.

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Democrats Refuse a Deal You Can’t Refuse

The Congressional Supercommittee failed to arrive at a plan to lower the deficit because the Republicans approached negotiations offering (like Michael Corleone) “not even the fee for the gaming license, which they’d appreciate if Democrats would put up personally.”

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The Most Delicious Feast Ever Served

For a description of a luscious Thanksgiving feast, turn to the luncheon that Eve prepares for Archangel Raphael in Book V of “Paradise Lost.”

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Bartleby, A Story of (Occupy) Wall Street

Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” has been adopted by a number of the Occupy Wall Street protesters but, according to one commentator, the story works as an ironic commentary on the movement.

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A Poetic Skylark & an Introspective Snake

Two Scott Bates animal fables cast a skeptical eye on idealists seeking a transcendent truth.

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Among Reread Authors, Jane Austen Is #1

Readers often reread Jane Austen to reassure themselves that order can be found in a chaotic world.

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