Monthly Archives: April 2012

Santorum as Gatsby?! Okay, Humor Me

By Robin Bates | Published: April 10, 2012

Think of the 2012 Republican primaries as “The Great Gatsby,” with Romney as Tom Buchanan and Santorum as Gatsby.

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Lessons of a Bird Killed by a Window

By Robin Bates | Published: April 9, 2012

Encountering a dead bird outside my window, I recalled a Lucille Clifton poem on the subject that draws a powerful social message.

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Far Off the Bells Rang through the Morning

By Robin Bates | Published: April 8, 2012

Mary Oliver finds Easter holiness in a new born fawn.

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Keeping Christ’s Message New and Real

By Robin Bates | Published: April 6, 2012

The 1989 film “Jesus of Montreal” shows the establishment church standing in the way of Jesus’s message.

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Why Obama Hatred? Ask Ellison, Baldwin

By Robin Bates | Published: April 5, 2012

What causes Obama-derangement? Ellison’s “Invisible Man” and Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain” offer explanations.

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Will Supreme Court Slay Robin Hood?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 4, 2012

If Obamacare’s mandate is overturned, the moneyed interests will have won. In Giebenhain’s poem, the sheriff will have bested Robin Hood.

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Could Beowulf Have Saved Jews?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 3, 2012

In her book about Eichmann, Hannah Arendt praises the Danes for how they stood up to the Nazis. One can draw a parallel with how Beowulf stands up to Grendel and also apply the lesson to the Trayvon Martin case.

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Faustus’s Soul and a Grieving Student

By Robin Bates | Published: April 2, 2012

This past year I have learned, in a new and powerful way, that the Faustus legend is a powerful exploration of the meaning of life and death. This is thanks to Caitie Harrigan, a senior at St. Mary’s who has been writing her senior project on the legend. As Caitie told me recently, she never […]

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Jesus’s Momentary Desire to Step Back

By Robin Bates | Published: April 1, 2012

Levertov focuses on Jesus’s very human moments of doubt, which serve to emphasize the sublimity of his acceptance of his humiliation and death.

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