Poetry cannot bring back a son one has lost but it can capture his beauty, as this Jeanne Vote lyric does.
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Islamic Philosophy vs. Muslim Fanatics
In his fantasy novel “Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights,” Salman Rushdie engaged in a debate within Islam about Reason vs. Faith. Good and bad jinn weigh in on each side.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged al-Ghazali, al-Qaeda, analysis, Averroes, Ibn Rushd, ISIS, Islamic terrorists, Salman Rushdie, Two Years Eight months and Twenty Eight Nights Comments closed
D. H. Lawrence: People in Thrall to Things
D. H. Lawrence’s story “Things” features, among other things, a returning ex-pat couple trying to figure out what to do with all their things. I’m currently sympathetic with their predicament.
Jane Austen Explains Mansplaining
Jane Austen understood mansplaining very well. “Northanger Abbey” provides a case study.
Caught in a Town’s Suffocating Embrace
A student experiencing difficulty leaving rural Maryland, where she grew up, found her dilemma captured in “100 Years of Solitude.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, incest Comments closed
Filling Our Houses with Stuff
As I sort through decades of clutter in preparation to move to a smaller home, I am reminded of L. Frank Baum’s Oz book about bric-a-brac.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged bri-a-bric, Edith Wharton, L. Frank Baum, materialism, Ozma of Oz, Thorstein Veblen Comments closed
You Must Sit Down, Says Love
Psalm 23 has an image which may help power one of George Herbert’s most beloved poems.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Love (3)", George Herbert, Jesus washing the feet of the dsiciples, Psalm 23 Comments closed
Comey vs. Trump, Two Alpha Dogs
James Comey is right to fight for American justice against Donald Trump but his male pride helped get Trump elected. Toni Morrison describes the dynamics in “Song of Solomon.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, FBI, FBI Russia investigation, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton's e-mails, James Comey, Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison Comments closed
