Monthly Archives: February 2022

A Call to Resist Oppression

Kaminsky’s poem “We Living Happily During the War,” while not written for the Russian invasion, could well be applied to it–and to ourselves.

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Transfiguration’s Promise and Its Cost

In Mark Jarman’s version of the transfiguration, Jesus initially resists the call and it is through his resistance that he is transfigured.

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Zelenskyy Cites a Russian Poem

In an attempt to shame the Russian invaders, the Ukraine president cited a popular Russian poem.

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When Reading Dante Was a Radical Act

In Matthew Pearl’s 19th century murder mystery “Dante Club,” translating Dante is dangerous business.

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On Stalin, Putin, & Orwell’s Napoleon

Putin has certain resemblances to Orwell’s Napoleon (in “Animal Farm”), who was modeled on Stalin–whom Putin seeks to emulate.

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Pushing Back against the Purity Police

While not as bad as fascists for censoring reading materials, leftwing purists present their own problems.

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Poems for Keeping the Home Fires Burning

I’m currently into cutting wood. Frost offers some cautions.

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Maybe Death Is as Soft as Feathers

In her poem “White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field,” Mary Oliver finds a reassuring image of death.

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Humpty Dumpty Cited in Trump Case

Lewis Carroll and George Orwell made an appearance in the real estate case against the Trumps.

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