Here’s a relaxing poem by “hoosier poet” James Whitcomb Riley to welcome in the summer.
Monthly Archives: June 2017
A Dreamy Day and Tranquilly I Lie
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Summer Afternoon", James Whitcomb Riley, Seasons, summer Comments closed
Lit Can Both Enslave and Liberate
In his 1961 revolutionary classic, Frantz Fanon saw literature as a powerful force with the potential to both enslave and liberate. Emerging nationalist movements needed literary expression to frame a sense of what was possible.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Frantz Fanon, independence movements, liberation struggles, post-colonialism, Wretched of the Earth Comments closed
On a Father’s Unspoken Love
Robert Hayden’s “Those Sunday Mornings” lends itself to a religious interpretation about a caring father who selflessly takes care of his child, expecting nothing in return.
WaPo’s Petri Plays Shakespearean Fool
Washington Post humorist Alexandra Petri has been having a lot of fun with Trump supporters’ attack on “Julius Caesar.” Here are some of her funniest barbs.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Aleandra Petri, Crucible, Hamlet, Humor, Ice Man Cometh, Julius Caesar, Long Day's Journey into Night, Macbeth, Master Builder, Newt Gingrich, Raisin in the Sun, Rent, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Only Wimps Complain about Shakespeare
Preeminent Shakespearean Stephen Greenblatt calls out people for whining about the Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of “Julius Caesar.” After all, Queen Elizabeth I once had a Shakespeare play used against her in an attempted overthrow and just shrugged it off.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Julius Caesar, Richard II, Shakespeare in the Park, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Sly Marc Antony Resembles McConnell
The Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of “Julius Caesar” has the Right up in arms about the image of Donald Trump being assassinated. The timeliest lesson of the play, however, is the way that Marc Antony slyly slides in to take power. Think of him as Mitch McConnell quietly preparing to repeal Obamacare and deprive millions of healthcare while the nation focuses on Senate hearings.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged ACA, AHCA, health care, Julius Caesar, Mitch McConnell, politics, Russia investigation, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Trump’s Cabinet as Goneril and Regan
Everyday, it seems, Trump proves to us that he’s King Lear. The latest example is when he subjected his Cabinet to a love test.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, King Lear, love test, William Shakespeare Comments closed
A Birthday Poem by the Numbers
My wedding anniversary and birthday this year all work together as a numerical quirk, giving me a rationale to share one of Jonathan Swift’s “Stella birthday poems” in which the poet also plays around with numbers.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Stella's Birthday 1718-19", birthdays, Jonathan Swift Comments closed
Genesis: Story Truth, Not Happening Truth
The creation story in the Book of Genesis is magnificent poetry that resists the attempts of religious and scientific fundamentalists alike to reduce it to a scientific account.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged creation story, creationism, Genesis, Marilynne Robinson, religious fundamentalism, Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien Comments closed
