Monthly Archives: August 2013

High Bouncing Lover, I Must Have You

By Robin Bates | Published: August 13, 2013

Fitzgerald’s epigraph to “Great Gatsby” challenges us to live life to the fullest.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 12, 2013

I read “David Copperfield” before entering high school. I didn’t know that it would anticipate some of my unhappy experiences there.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 11, 2013

Mary Oliver’s “In Blackwater Woods” instructs us in how to live and how to die.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 10, 2013

White water canoeing serves as a ready metaphor for facing life’s challenges, hopefully with grace.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 9, 2013

A fanatical scholar loses himself–literally–in his research.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 8, 2013

To teach kids to read by 3, use large flashcards with words that interest them.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 7, 2013

Scrooge asks, “Are there no workhouses?” Today’s GOP asks, “Are there no emergency rooms?”

By Robin Bates | Published: August 6, 2013

Speaking with the head as well as the heart against oppressive class conditions is necessary in novels as in public policy.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 5, 2013

The dueling statements of Michelle Knight and her Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro were like a novel with multiple points of view.