Today, the anniversary of my son’s death and also Arbor Day, I link the two days with two tree poems.
Monthly Archives: April 2021
Saving the Classics from Ideologues
A Univ. of Chicago classicist fears the alt-right will appropriate the classics for their own ends.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Aeneid, classics, culture wars, Homer, Iliad, Odyssey, Virgil Comments closed
Greek Tragedy & the Fragility of Goodness
Martha Nussbaum contents that Aristotle’s use of Greek tragedy gave him a particularly rich vision of how to lead a good life.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Aristotle, Euripides, goodness, Greek tragedy, Hecuba, Martha Nussbaum, Plato, Poetics, Republic Comments closed
Poetry Must Delight AND Instruct
Horace believes that the best poetry simultaneously delights and instructs, proving to be practical and entertaining simultaneously.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
A Partial Defense of Plato’s Poet Ban
Perhaps Plato banished poets from his ideal society because he appreciated the destructive potential of stories. He’s relevant in light of today’s conspiracy theories.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 1Q84, Aeschylus, conspiracy theories, Donald Trump, Euripides, Haruki Murakami, Homer, philosophy vs. poetry, Plato, QAnon, Republic, Sophocles Comments closed
A Young Black Servant Intently Listening
In another of her Easter poems, Levertov focusing on the servant serving the Emmaus dinner.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Servant Girl at Emmaus", Denise Levertov, Emmaus, Resurrected Christ Comments closed
A Poem for Guilt-Ridden Witnesses
Some of the first-hand witnesses at the Derek Chauvin trial felt guilty for not having done more. Lucille Clifton has a poem to reassure them.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "poem with a rhyme in it", Derek Chauvin trial, George Floyd murder, Lucille Clifton Comments closed
Joyce’s Eveline & Vaccine Resistance
Republicans refusing the Covid vaccine remind me of Eveline in Joyce’s “Dubliners.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged COVID-19, Dubliners, Eveline, GOP, James Joyce, vaccine refusal Comments closed
Byron, Shelley & Greek Independence
A case can be made that Byron and Shelley poems had a tangible effect on the 1820s Greek rebellion.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Hellas", "Isles of Greece", Greece, Greek independence, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley Comments closed
