Monday – April Fools Day For reasons I can’t explain, 18th century Britain was into April Fools Day. Jonathan Swift in particular loved the occasion and produced some of the great literary pranks in history. (See the links below.) Today, however, I present the work of one William Combe, who in 1777 wrote The First […]
Monthly Archives: March 2019
Onward He Came, & April Was His Name
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged April Fool's Day, Jonathan Swift, Triumph of Folly, William Combe Comments closed
What Drives You to Go Forth?
Spiritual Sunday The prodigal son is one of Jesus’s most challenging parables. I once read about a rightwing Christian arguing that Jesus had it all wrong since the story’s outcome violated her views about who deserves to be helped, whether by God or the government. Writers have had their own interesting takes. Andre Gide, tormented […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Departure of the Prodigal Son", "Prodigal Son", André Gide, Edith Wharton, Rainer Maria Rilke, Rudyard Kipling Comments closed
A Long Day’s Journey into Mystery
Friday I write today about a wonderful collection of mysterious poems by Xavier English professor Norman Finkelstein. Full disclosure requires me to state that Norman was my best friend when we were getting our doctorates at Emory University while honesty prompts me to add that large swatches of Norman’s poetry have always eluded me. Writing […]
Taking America for a Wild Ride
I received an e-mail from reader Donna Raskin about how D. H Lawrence’s harrowing short story “the Rocking Horse Winner” reminds her of Donald Trump, and I instantly saw the connection. The story seems even more relevant with the recent publication of Vicky Ward’s Kushner, Inc.: Greed Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Rocking Horse Winner", D. H. Lawrence, Donald Trump, monetizing the presidency, Trump Family corruption Comments closed
Good Advice from the Late W.S. Merwin
Tuesday I’ve been dilatory in acknowledging the death of W. S. Merwin two weeks ago, but I share today a poem he wrote that offers some good life advice. Although it’s writing advice he received from poet John Berryman when he was young, it extends beyond poetry. As I apply the poem to my own […]
Light beyond Sun and Words
Spiritual Sunday Tomorrow being the Annunciation–Christians believe the Holy Spirit visited Mary nine months before December 25–I share a series of poems on the subject by Lucille Clifton, that most motherly of poets. In “a song of mary,” Clifton captures the ordinariness of Mary’s life before Jesus, even as there are princes “sitting on thrones […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Annunciation", "holy night", "island mary", "mary's dream", "song of mary", Lucille Clifton, Virgin Mary Comments closed
Pete Buttigieg on the Liffey
Friday If any of the Democratic presidential candidates want space on this blog before the first debate in June (I hear them clamoring now), they must mention literature. I wrote about Sherrod Brown when I discovered his love for Tolstoy (although he ultimately chose not to run), and now Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg gets a […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2020 presidential campaign, Finnegans Wake, James Joyce, Pete Buttigieg, Ulysses Comments closed
