Monthly Archives: September 2020

Autumn, a Time to Reflect

For Mary Oliver, autumn is a time to reflect.

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Heart of Darkness as Military Manual

According to this military officer, “Heart of Darkness” provides a warning about what ill-conceived military incursions can do to servicemen and women.

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Birthday Wishes at 95

For my mother’s 95th birthday, I turn to Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73” to express my continuing love.

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Treachery at the Justice Department

Anne Perry’s “Treachery at Lancaster Gate” seems to be about the 19th century but describes Barr’s corruption of the Department of Justice only too well.

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May God’s Love Be Taught in Jerusalem

Grace Shulman’s Yom Kippur poem imagines Israelis and Arab Palestinians coming together so that Jerusalem can truly become a city of peace.

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Spying, in Austen and at Colleges

In “Northanger Abbey,” Tilney startles us with his use of the word “spies.” Spying has become one means that universities are using to combat Covid outbreaks.

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A Lotus Poem for Kamala

Because Kamala means lotus in Sanskrit, I share this Scott Bates lotus poem. Kamala was associated with the fertility goddess Lakshmi and America could use some fertility at the moment.

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Pratchett’s Solution to Police Violence

Wednesday That Breonna Taylor’s family is receiving a $12 million settlement and the promise of police reform following her wrongful shooting by Louisville police is in part a testimony to Black Lives Matters protests and other instances of public pressure. Without them, we might not even know her name. With that in mind, I return […]

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How to Overlook 200,000 Deaths

Donne’s “Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” captures why America might be overlooking 200,000 deaths at the moment.

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