Monthly Archives: September 2019

Buttigieg, Straight Out of “Our Town”

By Robin Bates | Published: September 19, 2019

Pete Buttigieg seems straight out of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” according to Washington Post’s drama critic.

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To Avoid War, Look to The Iliad

By Robin Bates | Published: September 18, 2019

As we once again hear war’s drum beat, it’s good to return to “The Iliad” and its vision of peace: the Achilles-Priam truce.

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Calvino on Reading the Classics

By Robin Bates | Published: September 17, 2019

In a famous essay, Calvino gives us multiple reasons to read the classics.

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Christian Man Bitten by Horse

By Robin Bates | Published: September 16, 2019

Mike Pence has claimed he was bitten by Triple Crown winner Pharaoh, bringing to mind Goldsmith’s “Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.”

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Which Literary Conman Is Trump?

By Robin Bates | Published: September 15, 2019

To understand Trump as conman, I compare him to the King and the Duke, Mac the Knife, Melville’s Confidence Man, Satan & Iago.

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Stately Pines, Cathedral Towers

By Robin Bates | Published: September 14, 2019

Many American poets have found God in nature, including Longfellow. His “Cathedral Towers” compares pine trees to a church.

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Friday 13th Is a Date Bewitched

By Robin Bates | Published: September 12, 2019

Friday the 13th My mother unearthed this Friday the 13th poem for her Sewanee Messenger poetry column. Unfortunately, we don’t know the author or the date. Enjoy. Friday, thirteenth, is a date bewitched: So be not born or hanged or hitched Or hired or fired on that day; Cut not thy nails, nor mow the […]

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“Invictus,” a Flawed Poem Easily Abused

By Robin Bates | Published: September 11, 2019

Thursday In two recent guest posts (here and here), Radnor High School English teacher Carl Rosin describes his students wrestling with two well-known poems that were cited by the Christchurch mass murderer in his justification. One issue is how much leeway a reader has in interpreting a poem. In his students’ responses, Carl mentions some […]

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Brief but Holy Moments of Exchange

By Robin Bates | Published: September 10, 2019

Danusha Lameris’s “Small Kindnesses” reminds us that people care about strangers. It’s a message we need to hear.

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