Monthly Archives: May 2022

Gun Violence and Armageddon

Wednesday This past Sunday I shared a number of poems from Lucille Clifton’s Book of Days to reflect on how Christian nationalists, many of them wielding weapons of war, work against Jesus’s goal to bring the kingdom of God to Earth. One poem from the collection particularly stands out in the wake of the mass […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Debunking Cherished Myths

In Brecht’s “Galileo,” we see how myths blind us to facts. Consider the the wild west myth that a only good guy with a gun will take down a bad guy with a gun.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

How Weigh the Cost of the War Dead?

In “The Watchers,” Whittier honors the fallen while seeing the necessity of war to bring about freedom.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Thy Will Be Done on Earth

Lucille Clifton’s final book of poems call out some of the blindnesses of Christian fundamentalists.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

On Men and Novel Reading

Thoughts on the differences between women and men reading novels.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Massacre Machinery & Slaughterhouse 5

Kurt Vonnegut, one who has seen the horrors of war, was a passionate opponent of guns in civilian hands.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

A Poem for Uvalde’s Grieving Families

In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, here’s a Conrad Aiken poem for all who are suffering heartbreak.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Which Poets Should Ukraine Honor?

Ukraine is currently taking down monuments to Russian-speaking poets and authors.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Austen on the Simple Country Life

In the strawberry picking scene in “Emma,” Austen wields her satiric pen to take apart social climber Mrs. Elton.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed