Monthly Archives: January 2020

When the Court Itself Is on Trial

The GOP may be preparing an impeachment trial that has a predetermined ending–just as the one that appears in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

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Hughes Taught King to Dream a World

Monday–Martin Luther King’s Birthday Of the many influences on Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, perhaps none looms so large as Langston Hughes’s “I Dream a World.” Check out the comparison: King: I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still […]

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The Herbert Poem that Converted Weil

George Herbert’s “Love (3)” prompted a religious breakthrough in French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil.

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Turgenev’s Stories Helped Free the Serfs

Turgenev’s early short story collection “Sportsman’s Notebook” played an important role in the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.

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Jigsaw Order Out of Chaos

As one who specializes in 18th century British lit, I’m fascinated with how jigsaw puzzles represent order arising from chaos.

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To Fight Climate Change, Plant Gardens

Wendell Berry asserts that growing and maintaining gardens is an antidote to climate change.

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Knives Out and the American Dream

The movie “Knives Out” is satisfying but leaves unquestioned the American Dream.

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Dante on Income Inequality

Dante puts those who exacerbate income inequality in his fourth circle of hell.

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Lit Interpretation Related to Bible Reading

Literary “close reading” can be traced back, in part, to Talmudic study of the Torah. That helps explain the significance I attach to literary interpretation.

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