Monthly Archives: December 2014

This Isn’t a Football, It’s a Shoe

By Robin Bates | Published: December 13, 2014

In this surrealistic poem about football, a quarterback holds on to the ball too long but does so for understandable reasons.

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The Quest of the Marvelous Tree

By Robin Bates | Published: December 12, 2014

In this mystical Scott Bates poem, the Christmas tree becomes a magical key that unlocks the darkness.

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The Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge

By Robin Bates | Published: December 11, 2014

The Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge is attracting some of my students.

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Toni Morrison: Stand Up & Breathe

By Robin Bates | Published: December 10, 2014

“I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry for Black protesters. Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” shows powerfully what it feels like to breathe again.

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Falling Out of Love with Tom Jones

By Robin Bates | Published: December 9, 2014

I have fallen out of love with “Tom Jones.” One reason may be because of the author’s sense of entitlement.

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Wheezles and Sneezles

By Robin Bates | Published: December 8, 2014

Like my literary namesake, I’ve had wheezles and sneezles for the past five days.

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The Animals Are Trying to Warn Us

By Robin Bates | Published: December 6, 2014

Scott Bates invokes “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” in this Nativity poem.

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A Poem for Monday Morning QB’s

By Robin Bates | Published: December 6, 2014

Ogden Nash’s celebration of football also points to its violence.

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Clean Air Is Bad for the Nation?!

By Robin Bates | Published: December 5, 2014

Republicans complaining about clean air regulations recall the Coketown mill owners in Dickens’ “Hard Times.”

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