Monthly Archives: February 2014

Using Lit to Predict the Weather

By Robin Bates | Published: February 28, 2014

Last week, while discussing “The Tempest,” we experienced a literal tempest. Expect cold temperatures today as I’m teaching “Eve of St. Agnes.”

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Prospero’s Magic, a Model for Fantasy Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: February 27, 2014

“The Tempest” fits magically into a fantasy course.

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Memorializing Gay Martyrs in Poetry

By Robin Bates | Published: February 26, 2014

Uganda’s new anti-gay legislation reminds me of a Mark Doty poem about a Bangor, Maine killing 30 years ago.

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In Defense of Arcane Scholarship

By Robin Bates | Published: February 25, 2014

Disciplines may engage in arcane language but they provide the foundation out of which exciting insights emerge.

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“Everybody Wants a Black Man’s Life”

By Robin Bates | Published: February 24, 2014

Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” offers a vision of hope for targeted black teens.

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Cain: A Positive Way Past Collective Guilt

By Robin Bates | Published: February 23, 2014

Nazi perpetrators who turned to Christianity avoided true contrition. Both the story of Cain and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” show how to really get right with God.

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Women Hockey Players in a State of Nature

By Robin Bates | Published: February 22, 2014

A Robert Bly prose poem about hockey to celebrate the exciting Olympics metal rounds.

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The Super Rich: Great Gatsby Redux

By Robin Bates | Published: February 21, 2014

Many of today’s billionaires are as paranoid as Tom Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby.”

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Out of Denialism and into Responsibility

By Robin Bates | Published: February 20, 2014

Denialism such as we are seeing with regard to climate change is well describe in “All the King’s Men.”

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