Monthly Archives: April 2022

What Is Conversion?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 30, 2022

For St. Paul, conversion was a blinding light. For Sir John Betjeman, it’s more a stumbling and blindly groping affair.

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Life’s Grip Is as Strong as Death’s

By Robin Bates | Published: April 28, 2022

Remembering my son’s death 22 years ago, I share a Jane Hirschfield poem.

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During War, Poetry a Necessity

By Robin Bates | Published: April 27, 2022

In Ukraine at the moment, poetry is not a luxury but a necessity.

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2 Battles: Thermopylae and Mariupol

By Robin Bates | Published: April 26, 2022

The Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol resemble the Greeks fighting at Thermopylae, bringing to mind an A.E. Housman poem.

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Book Bans Leave Children Defenseless

By Robin Bates | Published: April 25, 2022

Parents seek to protect their children through book bans. Instead, they make them more vulnerable to a changing world.

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They Fell with Their Faces to the Foe

By Robin Bates | Published: April 24, 2022

Binyon’s “To the Fallen” is often cited at war memorials. It is only too applicable to those Ukrainians opposing the Russian invasion.

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Different Ways to Pray

By Robin Bates | Published: April 23, 2022

In “Different Ways to Pray,” Naomi Shihab Nye expands the ways we can get in touch with the divine.

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Earth Day: Enriching the Earth

By Robin Bates | Published: April 21, 2022

Wendell Berry’s “Enriching the Earth” is a good poem with which to celebrate Earth Day.

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A Russian Poet’s View of Ukraine

By Robin Bates | Published: April 20, 2022

Brodsky’s “On Ukrainian Independence” captures the depth of Russia’s feeling for Ukraine–which explains a lot.

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