Tennis professional Petkovic uses Roth’s “Goodbye, Columbus” to arrive at an important insight: to assess someone’s character, play tennis with him or her.
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Using Tennis and Roth to Assess Character
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Goodbye Columbus, Novak Djokovic, Philip Roth, tennis Comments closed
A Pratchett Drama about Conmen
Pratchett’s “Going Postal,” a novel about a conman, captures much about our own Conman-in-Chief.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Going Postal, Louis DeJoy, Terry Pratchett, USPS Comments closed
Is John Kelly a Man for All Seasons?
Trump’s derogatory comments about the military would have been overheard by Gen. Kelly, who has been silent. “Man for All Seasons” helps us understand the meaning of such silence.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, John Kelly, Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt, Trump and the military, U.S. military Comments closed
The Dark World of the Suicidal
The suicide della Vigna in Dante’s Wood of Suicides is a noble man who, however, has lost touch with God.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Primary Wonder", Dante, Denise Levertov, Depression, Inferno, political betrayal, suicide Comments closed
Specter of Racial Violence Haunts Faulkner
Faulkner’s depiction of racial violence shows America’s dark side. Faulkner’s own racial views are less important than the truths that he shows.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Absolom Absolom, Light in August, racism, segregation, Sound and the Fury, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner Comments closed
Trump’s Shadows? The Nothing That Is
Satirist Alexandra Petri uses a Wallace Stevens line to satirize Donald Trump’s conspiracy mongering.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Snow Man", conspiracy theories, Donald Trump, projection, Wallace Stevens Comments closed
O’Connor: Some Racism but Still Great
Flannery O’Connor may have been a racist, but her depiction of the fragility of white racism is spot on.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Artificial Nigger, Everything that Rises Must Converge, Flannery O'Connor, racism, Revelation Comments closed
