Friday Yesterday Julia and I buried the ashes of writer Rachel Kranz, a dear friend who died a year ago. Her remains were divided between three who were close to her, and I chose to bury those allotted to me on the shore of Lake Eva, which sits on the edge of a bluff in […]
Monthly Archives: August 2018
National Inquirer, Political Sewage
“National Inquirer” is in trouble for having conspired to bury article critical of Donald Trump. Alexander Pope described such publications in “The Dunciad.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alexander Pope, David Pecker, Dunciad, National Inquirer Comments closed
Poetry Was Used to Bolster the Lost Cause
When the Silent Sam statue was erected in 1913, a speech associated it with defending white womanhood and quoted Tennyson.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Confederate statues, Lost Cause, Princess, Silent Sam Comments closed
The Novels that Shaped John McCain
McCain’s favorite novels included “Great Gatsby,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Huckleberry Finn,” and works by Somerset Maugham. One can understand why.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, John McCain, Kidnapped, Mark Twain, Of Human Bondage, Razor's Edge, Robert Louis Stevenson, Somerset Maugham, Tom Sawyer Comments closed
How Dangerous Is a Little Learning?
Pope’s “a little learning” seems dangerous at first glance but the alternative is not entirely attractive.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College", Alexander Pope, colleges, Education, Essay on Criticism, Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Gray Comments closed
I Might Come To Please Him Yet
Richard Wilbur uses proofreading terms to convey God’s mercy in “The Proof.”
Homage to My Father, a Reader
Friday Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of my father’s death. To remember him, I share one of his poems about reading. My father read to my brothers and me virtually every night when we were growing up, passing along a passion that became our own. In “The Retiring Candle,” he imagines an introverted candle retreating […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Retiring Candle", fathers and sons, reading, Scott Bates Comments closed
On Mac the Knife & Presidential Pardons
Trump, like Mac the Knife, is an escape artist extraordinaire. Might a presidential pardon save him as a reprieve saves Mac?
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Beggar's Opera, Bertolt Brecht, Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, presidential pardons, Three Penny Opera Comments closed
