Monthly Archives: June 2019

Curious George’s Escape from Hitler

By Robin Bates | Published: June 9, 2019

Monday A recent New Yorker article about “Curious George” forces us to rethink the beloved children’s classic. While at first glance, Rivka Galchen points out, it uncomfortably echoes the Middle Passage, it actually grew out of a different atrocity. Authors Hans and Margret Rey were Jews fleeing the Germans as they invaded France. The Reys […]

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Come, Holy Spirit

By Robin Bates | Published: June 8, 2019

Pentecost Sunday Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz uses the occasion of Pentecost to explore the nature of faith in his poem “Veni Creator.” Although the apostles may have been filled with the Holy Spirit, what about those of us who don’t experience tongues of flame? Here’s Luke’s description of moment (Acts 2:1-4): When the […]

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Teach Game Theory through Greek Myths

By Robin Bates | Published: June 6, 2019

Friday The other day I stumbled across an American Economist article, written up in JSTOR Daily, arguing that teachers who want their students to retain the fundamentals of game theory should turn to Greek myths. Economist James D. Miller and classicist Debbie Felton explain their reasoning as follows: For professional economists, game theory is about […]

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Fantasy and the Problem of Violence

By Robin Bates | Published: June 5, 2019

Thursday Today I will be delivering the following talk as part of Sewanee’s Lifelong Learning series, delivered in a venue that used to be my high school and where I spoke 50 years ago. It may sound strange to some of you that a literary scholar such as myself would talk about fantasy. Aren’t we […]

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A Keats Poem for Class Reunions

By Robin Bates | Published: June 4, 2019

Wednesday This past weekend I attended my 50th high school anniversary and relived life at Sewanee Military Academy from 1965-69. Some of my former classmates talked of these having been the happiest years of their lives, which brought to mind a poem I learned at SMA while practicing for the regional poetry competition. In some […]

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Poohing in the Sun

By Robin Bates | Published: June 4, 2019

Tuesday June has opened in Sewanee, Tennessee with four gorgeous days so I’m sharing one of Pooh’s nature poems. A. A. Milne’s self-deprecating poet describes sensory input blending together in a moment of pure bliss. Happy Summer! Oh, the butterflies are flying, Now the winter days are dying, And the primroses are trying To be […]

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We Need Barr to Be a Homeric Hero

By Robin Bates | Published: June 2, 2019

Monday Asked last week about damaging his legacy on behalf of Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr invoked Homer. “Everyone dies,” he said, “and I am not, you know, I don’t believe in the Homeric idea that you know, immortality comes by, you know, having odes sung about you over the centuries, you know?” In […]

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The Old Wild Place Beyond All Shame

By Robin Bates | Published: June 1, 2019

My friend Sue Schmidt alerted me to this Easter season meditation by Richard Rohr that uses a David Whyte poem to explain what Jesus meant when he said, “Anyone who wants to save his life must lose it. Anyone who loses her life will find it.” Rohr believes that Jesus is not calling for people […]

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