Monthly Archives: October 2016

We Mooste Calle Him “Hende Donald”

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2016

Donald Trump’s self-admitted sexual assaults resemble those of the university student in Chaucer’s “Miller’s Tales.” Hende Nicholas, however, is far more respectful of his lady love.

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How Trumpism Gives a Dark Permission

By Robin Bates | Published: October 9, 2016

In a reprinted post, I describe how Trumpism gives permission to Americans to exhibit their dark side and compare it to how Sin and Death in “Paradise Lost” are energized after Adam and Eve bite into the apple.

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A Pure Heart To Speak without Fear

By Robin Bates | Published: October 8, 2016

Spiritual Sunday, Anticipating Yom Kippur I have been reading up on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement when Jews gather to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. Yesterday I came across Avodah: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur. “Avodah” is the name of the Yom Kippur service. According to editors and translators Michael D. Swartz […]

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Bring the Liberal Arts to West Point

By Robin Bates | Published: October 6, 2016

A military man argues that the military academies have been emphasizing the STEM disciplines while overlooking the traditional liberal arts. This is a mistake, he argues, and mentions the Agincourt speech in “Henry V.” Sir Philip Sidney, another warrior, would agree and would add Pindar’s Olympian odes.

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The Liberal Arts Will Not Die

By Robin Bates | Published: October 5, 2016

Thursday My colleague Jeff Hammond, a national authority on Puritan poetry and a much lauded writer of reflective essays, recently gave a stirring defense of the liberal arts for our parents-alumni weekend. Jeff’s observations dovetail very nicely with Percy Shelley’s Defence of Poetry, which I happen to be teaching at the moment. Watching poetry getting […]

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Defending Homer against Plato

By Robin Bates | Published: October 4, 2016

Plato’s attacks on Homer have to do with the bard’s focus earthly concerns rather than higher ones. Following Plato’s prescriptions, however, will not produce very interesting poetry.

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Childhood, Space of Terror & Enchantment

By Robin Bates | Published: October 3, 2016

Norman Finkelstein’s wondrous poem “Children’s Realm” (in “The Ratio of Reason to Magic”) examines child’s play spaces and says that the poet also needs play spaces within.

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Butler & Grappling with White Privilege

By Robin Bates | Published: October 2, 2016

The figure of the white husband in Octavia Butler’s “Kindred” captures many of the blind spots of white privilege. Examining him led me to examine how I myself have benefitted from America’s slave past.

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Rosh Hashanah – A Stirring of Wonder

By Robin Bates | Published: October 1, 2016

Two poems, by Muriel Rukeyser and Denise Levertov, to celebrate Rosh Hashanah by

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