Tag Archives: Edith Wharton

Always We Shall Walk with the Young Dead

By Robin Bates | Published: May 30, 2021

Edith Wharton’s “The Young Dead” captures the sadness of Memorial Day.

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What Drives You to Go Forth?

By Robin Bates | Published: March 30, 2019

Spiritual Sunday The prodigal son is one of Jesus’s most challenging parables. I once read about a rightwing Christian arguing that Jesus had it all wrong since the story’s outcome violated her views about who deserves to be helped, whether by God or the government. Writers have had their own interesting takes. Andre Gide, tormented […]

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Filling Our Houses with Stuff

By Robin Bates | Published: April 23, 2018

As I sort through decades of clutter in preparation to move to a smaller home, I am reminded of L. Frank Baum’s Oz book about bric-a-brac.

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Beware of Literature’s Purity Police

By Robin Bates | Published: November 3, 2017

Laura Moriarty’s “American Heart” has been attacked for being a white savior narrative. Such stories should in fact be critiqued, but the attackers are often a bigger problem.

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Workers of the World, Read! (Then Unite)

By Robin Bates | Published: June 29, 2016

A “Washington Post” article argues that the arts are key in counteracting economic injustice. While this is true, the arts must be accompanied by smart politics to achieve this end.

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Bringing an End to Bernie’s Romance

By Robin Bates | Published: June 22, 2016

The Democratic Party has been striving to let Bernie Sanders down slowly, even as it separates him from his dream. It is like the way upper crust society in Edith Wharton’s “Age of Innocence” separates the protagonist for the scandalous woman he has fallen in love with.

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Lit Titles as Cocktails (“The Wasteland”)

By Robin Bates | Published: August 29, 2012

NPR’s Studio 360 sponsored a “literary cocktail” contest. We share here some of the highlights.

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