Monthly Archives: June 2023

A Memorial Service for Old Classmates

By Robin Bates | Published: June 19, 2023

In “Choir Invisible,” George Eliot aspires to have an uplifting impact on others.

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Another Poem about Bread

By Robin Bates | Published: June 18, 2023

Tom McGrath’s poem about bread wends its way through its spiritual and earthly aspects.

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Song Born from Newly Freed Throats

By Robin Bates | Published: June 17, 2023

Tyehimba Jess’s “Fisk Jubilee Proclamation” highlights the power of song to relive history and celebrate freedom.

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A Li-Young Lee Poem for Father’s Day

By Robin Bates | Published: June 15, 2023

Li-Young Lee has written the perfect poem for Father’s Day.

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McCarthy: Dark, Occasionally Hopeful

By Robin Bates | Published: June 14, 2023

Although the late Cormac McCarthy had a very dark vision of humanity, one can find glimpses of hope within his novels.

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Authoritarians Long to Act with Impunity

By Robin Bates | Published: June 13, 2023

Authoritarians long to act with impunity. H.G. Wells captures this fantasy in “The Invisible Man.”

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Trump, His Enablers, and “The Third Man”

By Robin Bates | Published: June 12, 2023

Graham Greene’s “The Third Man” captures the kind of evil we see in Trump and his enablers.

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Pilfered Files, Eustace Diamonds

By Robin Bates | Published: June 11, 2023

I compare Trump with Lizzy Greystock in Trollope’s “Eustace Diamonds”–government files for him, diamond necklace for her.

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The Poetry of Holy Bread

By Robin Bates | Published: June 10, 2023

I share a church talk on “The Poetry of Bread” where I shared poems by Levertov, Ungar, Neruda, Underhill, and others.

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