Monthly Archives: January 2013

The Comfort of Axe Biting into Wood

By Robin Bates | Published: January 13, 2013

In “Tinkers,” Paul Harding talks about the spiritual meaning of the aches and pains in a cold morning.

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Ravens Say “Nevermore” to Opponents

By Robin Bates | Published: January 12, 2013

The Baltimore Ravens may be the only professional team named after a poem. The words fit the team.

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Reading to Feel Accepted in a Strange Land

By Robin Bates | Published: January 11, 2013

Last year, when the book discussion group that I moderate was participating in America’s Big Read program, I was referred to this essay written for the occasion by the Indian-American literary critic Parul Sehgal, an editor at The New York Times Book Review. I particularly like how she describes feeling accepted by books, even though she […]

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Readers Hold the Key to a Book’s Meaning

By Robin Bates | Published: January 10, 2013

Increasingly scholars are looking at what books do to us and what we do to books.

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“Vanity Fair” Explains AIG’s Ingratitude

By Robin Bates | Published: January 9, 2013

AIG may join a suit against the government for the “onerous terms” of the 2008 bailout, making relevant a Thackeray portrayal of ingratitude.

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Right Wing, Incompetent Hostage Takers?

By Robin Bates | Published: January 8, 2013

The GOP holding the debt ceiling hostage could end just as badly as the kidnapping plot in “Ransom of Red Chief.”

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George Knightley as a GOP Moderate

By Robin Bates | Published: January 7, 2013

Mr. Knightley chastises Emma because she undermines their class superiority. The GOP establishment is worried about something similar.

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Uncontrollable Mystery on the Bestial Floor

By Robin Bates | Published: January 6, 2013

A Yeats poem about the Magi helps us transition out of Christmas and back into our work lives.

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If They Lose, Irish Can Turn to Poetry

By Robin Bates | Published: January 5, 2013

Even if they lose the national championship game, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have Ireland’s poetic legacy to fall back on.

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