Monthly Archives: October 2022

Trees Don Their Fall Finery

By Robin Bates | Published: October 20, 2022

Dickinson’s excitement about fall colors can be seen in her stepping out of her comfort zone and putting “a trinket on.”

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Irresponsible Coal Companies

By Robin Bates | Published: October 19, 2022

Coal miner owners have been leaving behind messes for others to clean up. Dickens reports something similar in “Hard Times.”

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How Media Would Spin Macbeth

By Robin Bates | Published: October 18, 2022

In an effort to be fair to both sides, sometimes the media doesn’t call out falsehoods. Satirist Petri imagines a newspaper telling the story of the Macbeths.

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Trumpists Resemble Dracula’s Renfield

By Robin Bates | Published: October 17, 2022

A “New York Magazine” columnist has compared Trumpists and Trump enablers to Renfield in “Dracula.” The comparison is an apt one.

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Trump’s Satanic Power Grab

By Robin Bates | Published: October 16, 2022

Monday One of the paradoxes of today’s GOP is that, at the same time they complain that Democrats represent a threat to their freedom, they want to hand over all power to their authoritarian cult leader. Donald Trump, it so happens, is not interested in anyone’s freedom but his own. This is one of the […]

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Circling around God, the Primordial Tower

By Robin Bates | Published: October 15, 2022

Rilke’s short but powerful “I live my life in widening circles” expands mind and spirit.

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the passing of all shining things

By Robin Bates | Published: October 13, 2022

e.e. cummings has a dialogue with Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” in his own poem about autumn. I include Frost and Oliver in the reflection as well.

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Coming Out, Better than Remaining Silent

By Robin Bates | Published: October 12, 2022

Audre Lorde has a powerful poem for those LGBTQ folk wrestling with whether or not to come out.

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The Ten Best Brit Poems of 1800s

By Robin Bates | Published: October 11, 2022

My Victorianist son shares his top ten 19th century British poems.

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