A “New Yorker” article argues that Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Seed” wins out over “1984” and “Handmaid’s Tale” in “the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time.”
Monthly Archives: July 2017
Our Most Prescient Sci-Fi Writer?
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged dystopian fiction, Octavia Butler, Parable of the Seed, Parable of the Sower Comments closed
The Pearl of Great Price Within
Jesus used the image of a “pearl of great price” to convey his sense of heaven. Hilda Doolittle uses it to convey her own sense of transcendence in a fine poem about shells.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged H.D., kingdom of heaven, pearl of great price, Walls Do Not Fall Comments closed
GOP “Moderates,” the Hollow Men
Despite brave talk from a number of so-called Republican moderates, only Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins stood up to their party in an attempt to save healthcare. Time to read “The Hollow Men” again.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Hollow Men", ACA, Congress, GOP, Healthcare debate, politics, T. E. Eliot Comments closed
Even Iago Should Not Be Tortured
Examining an upcoming trial by people who were tortured during the George W. Bush administration, Ariel Dorfman examines the face of Iago and the satisfaction we take at the tortures that await him.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Ariel Dorfman, CIA torture, Iago, Iraq War, Othello, torture, William Shakespeare Comments closed
A Little Bit Chipped Off in Brilliance
D. H. Lawrence’s poem “Hummingbird” works as a kind of trance, out of which we must be jolted lest we be swallowed up.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Hummingbird", Birds, D. H. Lawrence, hummingbirds, Nature Comments closed
Does School Teach Kids to Hate Reading?
An elementary school teacher is accusing traditional teaching assignments of killing kids’ natural love of reading. Is he right?
Flattering Trump Is Like Wallowing in S***
Donald Trump is surrounding himself with flatterers. Dante has a graphic account of where such people end up in Inferno.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Anthony Scaramucci, Dante, Divine Comedy, Donald Trump, flattery, Inferno Comments closed
Let Me Not Love Thee If I Love Thee Not
George Herbert, never afraid to go toe-to-toe with God, grapples with his tormenting faith in “Affliction (1).”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Affliction (1)", analysis, Doubt, George Herbert, sickness Comments closed
Jane Eyre on Caring for the Sick
As I support people who are sick and aging, I turn to Jane Eyre as a model of one who considers such activity to be, not a self-sacrifice, but a gift to herself.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Aging, caregivers, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, sacrifice Comments closed
