Tag Archives: violence

Anger in Ancient Greek Works

By Robin Bates | Published: September 13, 2017

A new book looks at how the ancient Greeks approached the issue of anger in works such as “Iliad,” “Ajax,” and “Hecuba.

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Born with a Knife in the Heart

By Robin Bates | Published: July 2, 2017

Israeli poet Haim Gouri reflects upon the story of Abraham and Isaac and concludes that the descendants of people persecuted “are born with a knife in their hearts.”

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Why We Fear Clowns

By Robin Bates | Published: October 16, 2016

The recent outbreak of criminal clowns can be explained by combining Freud’s essay on the uncanny and Stephen King’s IT.

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Drama Shows Us a Way Out of Violence

By Robin Bates | Published: March 14, 2016

New School philosophy professor Simon Critchley argues that theatre and the arts in general are vital in helping societies understand and moderate endemic violence. Aeschylus’s “Oresteia” and Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” are particularly important.

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Love & the Red Fool-Fury of the Seine

By Robin Bates | Published: November 14, 2015

Tennyson, responding to Paris massacres in the 1840s, asserts his faith in love and in social truth. Our challenge is to continue to believe this in the wake of the recent terror attacks.

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A Fantasy about U.S. Thirst for War

By Robin Bates | Published: April 7, 2015

Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” understands the thirst of those Americans that want to go to war with Iran.

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Can Lit Make the Rich More Empathetic?

By Robin Bates | Published: February 2, 2015

With growing income disparity comes a decline in empathy. Literature can help rebuild our compassion.

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Top Post of 2014: Black Lives Matter

By Robin Bates | Published: December 31, 2014

I repost a Toni Morrison essay on the importance of black men asserting their worth.

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“Everybody Wants a Black Man’s Life”

By Robin Bates | Published: February 24, 2014

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

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