Monthly Archives: December 2015

Two Exam Poems To Lift Your Spirits

By Robin Bates | Published: December 10, 2015

For students encounter end-of-semester pressure, here are two comic poems about exams. Laughter is an important resource for you at the moment.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Among School Children", exams, finals week, students, William Butler Yeats | Comments closed

Wild Turkey Sighting in Tennessee

By Robin Bates | Published: December 9, 2015

After unexpectedly encountering a flock of wild turkeys, I had to share these three wild turkey poems.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Field Notes", "these wild turkeys", "Wild Turkeys on the Road Near Home", Mark Seth Lender, Max Reif, Nature, Tim Poland, wild turkeys | Comments closed

Lit Is Aristotelian Road to Happiness

By Robin Bates | Published: December 8, 2015

Psychologists say that a strong sense of narrative identity can lead to the profound sense of happiness described by Aristotle. Literature helps us make sure we have available to us the best narratives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aristotle, Brothers Karamazov, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Emma, eudaimonic well-being, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Great Expectations, happiness, Jane Austen, King Lear, stories, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Criminal Case: Turkish Prez & Gollum

By Robin Bates | Published: December 7, 2015

A character analysis of Gollum could determine whether a Turkish doctor goes to jail. This after he tweeted images of the Turkish president that resembled the film’s depiction of Gollum.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged censorship, Gollum, Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, power corrupts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Turkish president | Comments closed

Atwood’s Dystopias & the Gun Business

By Robin Bates | Published: December 6, 2015

Margaret Atwood’s recent dystopian fictions capture how capitalism preys upon sex and fear. We don’t have to travel into the future as the gun industry is taking full advantage of our fears in the present.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged gun epidemic, gun lobby, gun violence, Heart Goes Last, Margaret Atwood, NRA, Terrorism | Comments closed

Once in Royal David’s City…

By Robin Bates | Published: December 5, 2015

As I attended Sewanee’s Festival of Lessons and Carols, I was taken back to when I participated in the service as a member of the children’s choir and why I fell in love with “Once in Royal David’s City.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Once in Royal David's City", All Saints Chapel, Cecil Frances Alexander, Christmas carols, Festival of Lessons and Carols | Comments closed

Conrad: Terrorism Not as Clear as It Looks

By Robin Bates | Published: December 3, 2015

We all think we know what went on with the killings in Charleston, Colorado Springs, and San Bernardino because they fit easy narratives. Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent” should make us wary about jumping to conclusions.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Joseph Conrad, Media, Planned Parenthood mass shooting, San Bernadino killings, Secret Agent, Terrorism | Comments closed

Climate Inaction Will Lead to a Dystopia

By Robin Bates | Published: December 2, 2015

If we refuse to do anything to counteract climate change, we are doing grave injustice to our children and grandchildren. Russell Hoban’s post-apocalyptic fantasy “Riddley Walker” captures the selfishness that we would be guilty of.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apocalypse, climate change, climate change denialism, global warming, GOP, politics, Riddley Walker, Russell Hoban | Comments closed

My College Owes Its Founding to a Novel

By Robin Bates | Published: December 2, 2015

My college, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, is celebrating its 175th birthday this year. The school owes its existence to an 1838 novel, John Pendleton Kennedy’s “Rob of the Bowl.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archaeological site, John Kennedy Pendleton, Rob of the Bowl, St. Mary's City, St. Mary's College of Maryland | Comments closed