Monthly Archives: May 2023

Reading Lit to Cope with Prison

By Robin Bates | Published: May 10, 2023

In his book about reading lit in prison, Genis talks about how novels helped him understand fellow inmates and discover his own Jewishness.

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Thrown by Proust into the Past

By Robin Bates | Published: May 9, 2023

Reading about Gilberte in “Swann’s Way” has had me thinking a lot about a girl I knew in childhood.

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On Trump, Achilles, and Retribution

By Robin Bates | Published: May 8, 2023

Trump has been threatening retribution on his enemies. The Iliad shows the corrosive effects of revenge.

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A Child’s Vision of British Monarchs

By Robin Bates | Published: May 7, 2023

Following Saturday’s coronation, I realized the extent to which my vision of English monarchs has been shaped by A.A. Milne.

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Secret Garden, Hidden Soul

By Robin Bates | Published: May 6, 2023

The secret garden in Burnett’s novel works as a metaphor for the soul.

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Crucial Support in the Face of Death

By Robin Bates | Published: May 4, 2023

In “Women of Brewster Place” a character charges into a scene of despair and refuses to let death triumph.

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Tolstoy’s Kitty and a Dying Patient

By Robin Bates | Published: May 3, 2023

My favorite episode in “Anna Karenina” is Kitty showing Levin she can handle a dying patient better than he can.

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Late to the Party

By Robin Bates | Published: May 2, 2023

Patrick Kavanagh’s ode to a late-leafing poplar.

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Tolstoy’s Vision of Establishing Dialogue

By Robin Bates | Published: May 1, 2023

Sympathetic listening is key to making society work. We see Kitty advocating for such in “Anna Karenina.”

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