Monthly Archives: January 2023

Ozeki: Books Have Feelings Too

By Robin Bates | Published: January 10, 2023

Ozeki’s “Book of Form and Emptiness” is filled with profound beautiful reflections about our relationship with books.

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Reading Our Way to Our Destiny

By Robin Bates | Published: January 9, 2023

According to Ozeki, lit collaborates with us and helps us fulfill our destinies. The more you read, the more likely it is you’ll find the best books for this.

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Ozeki Imaginatively Argues for Literature

By Robin Bates | Published: January 8, 2023

Ozeki’s “Book of Form and Emptiness” makes an imaginative case for the continued relevance of books.

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Three Beams Closing In and In on the Star

By Robin Bates | Published: January 8, 2023

In Brodsky’s “Nativity Poem,” epiphany starts small but grows.

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Is Kevin McCarthy a Macbeth? Nah

By Robin Bates | Published: January 5, 2023

Is Kevin McCarthy like Macbeth? A little bit yes when it comes to ambition but more no.

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The Grand Canyon, Abyss Sublime

By Robin Bates | Published: January 4, 2023

18th century notions of the sublime are attempts to capture something as mind-blowing as the Grand Canyon, which I visited yesterday.

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Clifton, the Sonora Desert, & Resilience

By Robin Bates | Published: January 4, 2023

Clifton’s poem on the Sonora Desert does a deep dive into cactus symbolism

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Fine Distinctions in Trumpian Grift

By Robin Bates | Published: January 2, 2023

Tuesday While the House committee investigating Donald Trump’s January 6 coup attempt has focused its sights on the ex-president, its report has also looked at minor actors, both those who stuck with the president and those who have peeled off. One of my favorite posts over the past two years has been one applying A.E. […]

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Zelensky as Hugo’s Enjolras

By Robin Bates | Published: January 2, 2023

Ukrainian president bears a striking resemblance to Hugo’s Enjorlas in “Les Misérables.”

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