In her Pulitzer-winning “One of Ours,” Cather shows the impact of the 1918 flu.
Monthly Archives: July 2020
Cather’s Handling of the 1918 Flu
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 1918 Influenza Epidemic, COVID-19, Ernest Hemingway, machismo, One of Ours, Willa Cather Comments closed
A Fable about Cancel Culture
While the left doesn’t practice cancel culture to the degree that the right does, it is still a concern, as a recent open letter to “Harper’s” makes clear. So does this Scott Bates fable.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Recalcitrant Piece of Mimeograph Paper", cancel culture, political correctness, Scott Bates Comments closed
Le Guin on Differing Disaster Responses
An Ursula LeGuin sci-fi story captures how different cultures respond to catastrophes differently. It’s very relevant to a world confronting Covid.
Flowers for Algernon, Parable on Aging
With regard to my improving tennis game, I see my present–and my future–in the Daniel Keyes novel “Flowers for Algernon.”
Looking Back at Past Covid Posts
I look back at previous post on Covid-19. There are a lot of them.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
The Glory of the Coming of the Lord
“The Battle of the Hymn of the Republic” is one of the most influential set of lyrics in American history–for good and for bad.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Battle Hymn of the Republic", Black Lives Matter, Civil War, Julie Ward Howe, racism Comments closed
We All Sing America
Between them, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes do a good job of defining America.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "I Hear America Singing", "I Too Sing America", July 4, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman Comments closed
Black Cat Fights for the Day He’ll Be Free
Friday Attempts to demonize Black Lives Matter take me back to 1968, when the Black Panthers were similarly demonized. Their response to murderous cops was to arm themselves, which was the last time that Republicans supported significant gun control legislation. It also led to some shootouts and to the police assassination of Fred Hampton and […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Black Cat Blues", Black Lives Matter, Black Panthers, Scott Bates Comments closed
Black Lives Matter Changes the Canon
Black Lives Matter is getting some professors to rethink works they had previously defended
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Dante, Harold Bloom, Heart of Darkness, Homer, Joseph Conrad, literary canon, Shakespeare, Virgil Comments closed
