Monthly Archives: September 2020

The Woman Who Refused to Be Still

By Robin Bates | Published: September 20, 2020

Dickinson’s “They shut me up in prose” captures the narratives that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to fight through–and help other women to break down.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "They shut me up in prose", Emily Dickinson, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sexism | Comments closed

Who Has Begotten the Drops of Dew?

By Robin Bates | Published: September 19, 2020

To celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I share this Anthony Hecht poem about his son Adam, who needs the reassurance that God’s Adam once needed.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Prayer for My Daughter", "Adam", Anthony Hecht, Rosh Hashanah, William Butler Yeats | Comments closed

Kushner: Cheshire Cat Explains Trump

By Robin Bates | Published: September 17, 2020

Jared Kushner has compared the Trump administration to “Alice in Wonderland.” A Washington Post satirist teases out parallels he probably didn’t have in mind.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Donald Trump, Lewis Carroll | Comments closed

To Teach Empathy, Turn to Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: September 16, 2020

Literature is a powerful way to teach empathy–but do so, literature must be taught in different ways than many teachers do.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged empathy, pedagogy, teaching empathy | Comments closed

Battling Our Inner Darkness

By Robin Bates | Published: September 15, 2020

Terry Pratchett’s “Thud!” deals with violence–both the violence we are witnessing around us and the violent thoughts these call up within ourselves. It helps explain police brutality.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged factionalism, police brutality, Terry Pratchett, Thud!, violence | Comments closed

Tennis Fiction and Osaka’s Brilliance

By Robin Bates | Published: September 14, 2020

Literary fiction that mentions tennis can raise our appreciation of the game, including the play of figures like Naomi Osaka. Nabokov, Roth, and Wallace have all written about tennis.