Monthly Archives: September 2021

Remembering 9-11 in Poetry

By Robin Bates | Published: September 9, 2021

On September 11, 2001 and for six days after, Lucille Clifton wrote a series of poems reflecting on the meaning of the attack.

Eliot Explains Conspiracy Theories

By Robin Bates | Published: September 8, 2021

In “Middlemarch,” Eliot gives a succinct explanation as to why people are drawn to conspiracy theories.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged conspiracy theories, COVID-19, George Eliot, Middlemarch, QAnon | Comments closed

Hurricane Ida and Murakami’s 1Q84

By Robin Bates | Published: September 7, 2021

Comparing Hurricane Id’s damage with a supernatural rainstorm in Murakami’s “1Q84” leads to interesting climate observations.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1Q84, climate change, cults, extreme weather events, Haruki Murakami, Hurricane Ida, hurricanes, Trumpism | Comments closed

Atwood & Austen on Abortion in Texas

By Robin Bates | Published: September 6, 2021

Texas’s new abortion law, which incentives citizens to snitch on their neighbors, brings to mind “Handmaid’s Tale,” “1984,” and “Northanger Abbey.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1984, George Orwell, Handmaid's Tale, Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Northanger Abbey, Supreme Court, Texas abortion law | Comments closed

A Day of Rest for the Working Class

By Robin Bates | Published: September 5, 2021

Labor Day In observance of Labor Day, here’s a poem by that bounciest of poets, Robert Service. Although it’s a bit of a caricature of the working man, I like the way he talks of rest. Labor Day, after all, celebrates the workers by giving them a special day off. And they don’t even have […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Song of the Wage Slave", Labor Day, Robert Service, workers, Working class | Comments closed