Reginald Dwayne Betts’s life was turned around when he encounter an anthology of African American poetry in prison. Today he is a graduate of Yale Law School and an accomplished poet in his own right. I share a poem written about Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old shot by Cleveland police.
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Poetry Turns Prisoner’s Life Around
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged police shootings, racism, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Tamir Rice Comments closed
Workers of the World, Read! (Then Unite)
A “Washington Post” article argues that the arts are key in counteracting economic injustice. While this is true, the arts must be accompanied by smart politics to achieve this end.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2016 presidential election, Age of Innocence, Defense of Poesy, Donald Trump, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, politics, Sir Philip Sidney Comments closed
Envy, the Sin That Blinds
In this week’s poker essay by novelist Rachel Kranz, envy is described as the one deadly sin that gives no pleasure at all.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Dante, Doctor Faustus, envy, Poker, Rachel Kranz Comments closed
Kipling Perfectly Describes Brexiteers
A “Guardian” article applies Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Dead Statesman” to those irresponsible politicians who brought about Brexit. The poem applies equally well to Donald Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Dead Statesman", "Epitaphs of the War", Boris Johnson, Brexit, King Lear, Michael Gove, Rudyard Kipling, William Shakespeare Comments closed
With Brexit, UK Betrayed Spirit of Chaucer
Brexit violates everything that Geoffrey Chaucer, Britain’s quintessential poet, stood for.
Footprints on the Sands of Time
Longfellow’s “Psalm of Life” quotes from today’s Gospel reading–“let the dead bury their own dead”–in ways that help illuminate Jesus’s message.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Psalm of Life", Bible, Ecclesiastes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Luke, Psalms Comments closed
America’s Dream: We Contain Multitudes
My Trinidadian daughter-in-law today becomes an American citizen. I welcome her with an excerpt from Whitman’s “Song of Myself” that contains multitudes.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Song of Myself", citizenship, Diversity, Immigration, USA, Walt Whitman Comments closed
