Today, for July 4, I offer up two ultra-American poems. Walt Whitman embraces multitudes” in “I Hear America Singing,” and Langston Hughes, in an addendum, mentions some of those Americans that, in the past, have been forgotten. May we all remember that America is astounding in its willingness to open itself to all people.
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Whitman & Hughes Hear America Singing
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "I Hear America Singing", "I Too Sing America", Immigration, July 4, Langston Hughes, Patriotism, Walt Whitman Comments closed
When God’s Call Feels Like a Burden
“Collar” works as a triple pun—a clerical collar, a prisoner’s collar, and “choler.” Why, for all that I have done, am I only harvesting a thorn, George Herbert cries out in the poem by that name. Why am I still standing in suit to God when I could simply turn my back on it all?
In Life as in Poker, Trust What You Know
Novelist Rachel Kranz talks about trust, both in poker and novel writing. Once you have the knowledge and the skill, she says, what remains is trusting yourself.
Top Gun Takes Down Grendel’s Mom
An unexpected parallel between “Beowulf” and the Tom Cruse film “Top Gun” has given me new appreciation for the 8th century Anglo-Saxon epic and a deeper insight into how at least some guys in the military handle grief.
