“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” pits paganism’s Winter Solstice against Christmas. But reconciliation is possible.
Monthly Archives: December 2023
Cloud Cuckoo Land: The Power of Story
Doerr’s “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is testimony to the power of story to save us when we need saving.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged alternative facts, Anthony Doerr, Antonius Diogenes, climate change, Cloud Cuckoo Land, global warming, Homer, Odyssey Comments closed
Paul Celan on Fascism’s Horrors
Paul Celan’s “Death Fugue,” about the Holocaust, reads differently during the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "September 1 1939", Death Fugue, Holocaust, Israel and Gaza, Paul Celan, W. H. Auden, World War II Comments closed
Horror Fiction, Anecdote to Fear
Full immersion in fear can lead to bad health outcomes. Shelley’s meta-narrative horror work “Frankenstein” allows us to turn psychic distress into something positive.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angus Fletcher, Frankenstein, Hans Selye, horror genre, May Shelley, stress, Wonderworks Comments closed
Mary and the Threefold Terror of Love
Yeats’ “Mother of God” is a good poem for the third Sunday in Advent.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Among School Children", "Mother of God", Advent, Virgin Mary, W. B. Yeats Comments closed
A Roc Sighting in Xmas Bird Count
A Scott Bates poem on a miraculous sighting during the annual Christmas bird count.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Roc for Christmas", Birds, Christmas bird count, Scott Bates Comments closed
McCarthy a Greek Hero? NOT!
Kevin McCarthy is no tragic hero. He does resemble a minor figure from “Julius Caesar,” however.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Ajax, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Kevin McCarthy, Oedipus, Sophocles, William Shakespeare Comments closed
The Left Wants to Cancel Orwell? Nope
MAGA fans of 1984 are now accusing leftists of canceling Orwell. Which is not true.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 1984, authoritarianism, Donald Trump, Feminism, George Orwell, Sandra Newman Comments closed
Trump as Dracula and Ancient Mariner
Maureen Dowd compares Trump to Dracula and the Ancient Mariner. The comparisons are worth exploring.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Bram Stoker, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge Comments closed
