Monthly Archives: April 2018

Reading, Better than Juvie

By Robin Bates | Published: April 9, 2018

When high school vandals defaced a historic black church, an enlightened judge ordered them to read books and report on them.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Khaled Hosseini, Kite Runner, Marilyn Nelson, rehabilitation, sentencing, vandalism, Wreath for Emm, Wreath for Emmett Till | Comments closed

A Vast Unfolding Design Lit by a Risen Sun

By Robin Bates | Published: April 8, 2018

Denise Levertov’s magnificent poem about Doubting Thomas graphically describes the doubts, making the final revelation all the more powerful.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "St. Thomas Didymus", Dana Greene, Denise Levertov, Doubt, doubting Thomas, Resurrection | Comments closed

Weather Report: Death’s Untimely Frost

By Robin Bates | Published: April 6, 2018

Having winter intrude upon our spring has me quoting Burns and Shakespeare.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cold snap, Highland Mary, Robert Burns, Sonnet 18, weather, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Can a Dream Hold Us Together?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 5, 2018

In “Midnight’s Children,” Rushdie shows the forces destroying India’s dream of national unity. Americans will find it familiar.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Constitution, Declaration of Independence, founding fathers, Gunfighter Nation, Midnight's Children, Regeneration through Violence, Richard Slotkin, Salman Rushdie | Comments closed

Inspired by MLK and Lucille Clifton

By Robin Bates | Published: April 4, 2018

To honor Martin Luther King, I share a hard-hitting but hopeful Lucille Clifton essay by a first-year African-American student who is fulfilling his dream.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "i am accused of tending to the past", "meeting after the savior gone", "note to myself", "reply", Alyssa Hawkins, Lucille Clifton, Martin Luther King, racism | Comments closed

Happiness Based on Another’s Oppression

By Robin Bates | Published: April 3, 2018

To understand why the race card is so politically effective, reading Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American Dream, immigrants, Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, race card, racism, Ursula K Le Guin | Comments closed

Roy Cohn, Trump’s Mentor

By Robin Bates | Published: April 2, 2018

A revival of “Angels in America” reminds us of the vicious lawyer who mentored Donald Trump. Yet the play is optimistic for all that.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged AIDS, Angels in America, Donald Trump, homosexuality, LBGTQ issues, Roy Cohn, Tony Kushner | Comments closed

Love, the Lesson which the Lord Us Taught

By Robin Bates | Published: April 1, 2018

Edmund Spenser joyfully welcomes in Easter, proclaiming “Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Easter, Edmund Spenser, love | Comments closed