Monthly Archives: September 2011

“Sports Saturday” Suspended

By Robin Bates | Published: September 10, 2011

I have dropped “Sports Saturday” in order to open up more writing time for myself and from here on out will blog only six days a week.  I will continue to write occasional posts about sports and literature, however.

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Obama’s Locker Room Speech

By Robin Bates | Published: September 9, 2011

President Obama’s jobs speech last night resembled a coach’s half time speech to a team that feels on the ropes. The Al Pacino speech in Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday” comes to mind.

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Après Peyton, le Déluge

By Robin Bates | Published: September 8, 2011

News that Peyton Manning may be out for part or all of the upcoming football season puts me in mind of the future of the Geats after Beowulf’s death.

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Reading for Fun, the Best Education

By Robin Bates | Published: September 7, 2011

In “Northanger Abbey,” Jane Austen advocates the ideal way to raise one’s kids: encourage them to read good literature and they will learn the life lessons that they need.

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The Gothic Drama of Tabloid Celebrities

By Robin Bates | Published: September 6, 2011

In a New York Times article, Carina Chocano writes that tormented celebrities like Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Paris Hilton are living lives that resemble classic gothics

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Dirty Work = Heart of Darkness

By Robin Bates | Published: September 5, 2011

In “Heart of Darkness,” Joseph Conrad indirectly teaches us that doing work that contributes to human misery will take a toll, however much we try to focus just on the work.

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A Shimmering of Wind in the Blue Leaves

By Robin Bates | Published: September 4, 2011

In her poem “Of Being,” Denise Levertov believes that mystery of creation outweighs the “looming presences” of great suffering and fear.

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Transfixed by the Batted Blocked Clubbed Kicked and Clobbered Ball

By Robin Bates | Published: September 3, 2011

This poem by Scott Bates is about the dream of sports as it contrasts with its often bloated reality.

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Can Art Change Big Brother?

By Robin Bates | Published: September 2, 2011

The Oscar-winning German film “The Lives of Others” speaks to the ability of art to change people’s lives.

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