Monthly Archives: June 2022

Summer Solstice Unleashes Dark Forces

By Robin Bates | Published: June 20, 2022

Early works of Brit Lit used summer solstice imagery to explore clashes between Christian England and its pagan past.

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The Trump Who Had No Clothes

By Robin Bates | Published: June 19, 2022

Andersen’s “Emperor’s New Clothes” perfectly captures today’s GOP.

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Methought I Heard One Calling, “Child”

By Robin Bates | Published: June 18, 2022

For Father’s Day, here are a couple of God the father poems.

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Sometimes Mercenaries Surprise Us

By Robin Bates | Published: June 16, 2022

We now know the extent of the pressure Mike Pence faced on January 6. Housman’s poem about mercenaries comes to mind.

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The Deep Roots of U.S. Race Hatred

By Robin Bates | Published: June 15, 2022

Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Water Dancer” describes race dynamics in slave society that still operate today.

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Bookshops as Warehouses of Explosives

By Robin Bates | Published: June 14, 2022

Morley’s novel “The Haunted Bookstore” is a powerful advertisement for reading.

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Will Jan. 6 Evidence Change GOP Minds?

By Robin Bates | Published: June 13, 2022

Will Trump supporters believe the findings of the January 6 investigation committee? Brecht cautions against optimism in such cases.

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Liz Cheney as a Miltonic Good Angel

By Robin Bates | Published: June 12, 2022

Liz Cheney on the committee investigating January 6 and Donald Trump is like Milton’s Abdiel standing up to Satan.

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A Ferocity of Petition Dwarfing Desire

By Robin Bates | Published: June 11, 2022

In “The Knight’s Prayer” Pinsky contrasts praying against and praying for.

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