Turkish novelist Elif Shafak says that we must cultivate emotional intelligence to live in an increasingly diverse world while battling authoritarians’ reductive desires. Lit is vital in this endeavor.
Monthly Archives: January 2018
Shafak: Storyland Is the Taste of Freedom
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged authoritarianism, Diversity, Elif Shafak, emotional intelligence, multiculturalism Comments closed
The Always Overflowing Sea
Neruda’s “Ode to the Sea” can also be an exploration of our relationship to God.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Ode to the Sea", C. S. Lewis, fishermen, Job, Narnia, ocean, Pablo Neruda Comments closed
Frodo as Newly Minted PhD
How is writing a PhD like Frodo’s journey to Mordor? Check it out.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged graduate school, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, PhD process Comments closed
Pope Anticipated the Ansari Affair
Celebrity culture contributed to the Aziz Ansari scandal and the commotion it has caused. Alexander Pope sets forth the dynamics in “Rape of the Lock.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alexander Pope, Aziz Ansari, Celebrity culture, Rape of the Lock, sexual harassment Comments closed
Atwood and the Aziz Ansari Affair
Margaret Atwood is under fire for her cautions about #MeToo movement. Her novels are useful, however, in the Aziz Ansari affair.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Hustand", Alias Grace, Aziz Ansari, bad date, Cat's Eye, Handmaid's Tale, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Margaret Atwood, sexual assault Comments closed
Patmore’s “Angel,” a Dangerous Poem
Patmore’s “Angel in the House” is no longer read but it defined the domestic ideal for much of the 19th century.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angel in the House, Coventry Patmore, domestic ideal, domesticity, Feminism, To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf Comments closed
America, Racist and Revolutionary Both
In America, Jamaican immigrant Claude McKay reminds America what makes it great, even as he exposes its dark side.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged America, Claude McKay, Donald Trump, Dreamers, Immigration, Martin Luther King, racism Comments closed
Is Bannon a Thomas Cromwell?
Steve Bannon may see himself as the protagonist of Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy, but there’s one lesson from Henry VIII’s advisor that he ignored.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Bring Out the Bodies, Hilary Mantel, Man for All Seasons, Steve Bannon, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More, Wolf Hall Comments closed
