Monthly Archives: December 2023

Sir Gawain and the Winter Solstice

By Robin Bates | Published: December 20, 2023

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” pits paganism’s Winter Solstice against Christmas. But reconciliation is possible.

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Cloud Cuckoo Land: The Power of Story

By Robin Bates | Published: December 19, 2023

Doerr’s “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is testimony to the power of story to save us when we need saving.

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Paul Celan on Fascism’s Horrors

By Robin Bates | Published: December 18, 2023

Paul Celan’s “Death Fugue,” about the Holocaust, reads differently during the Israel-Gaza conflict.

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Horror Fiction, Anecdote to Fear

By Robin Bates | Published: December 17, 2023

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.

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Mary and the Threefold Terror of Love

By Robin Bates | Published: December 16, 2023

Yeats’ “Mother of God” is a good poem for the third Sunday in Advent.

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A Roc Sighting in Xmas Bird Count

By Robin Bates | Published: December 14, 2023

A Scott Bates poem on a miraculous sighting during the annual Christmas bird count.

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McCarthy a Greek Hero? NOT!

By Robin Bates | Published: December 13, 2023

Kevin McCarthy is no tragic hero. He does resemble a minor figure from “Julius Caesar,” however.

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The Left Wants to Cancel Orwell? Nope

By Robin Bates | Published: December 12, 2023

MAGA fans of 1984 are now accusing leftists of canceling Orwell. Which is not true.

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Trump as Dracula and Ancient Mariner

By Robin Bates | Published: December 11, 2023

Maureen Dowd compares Trump to Dracula and the Ancient Mariner. The comparisons are worth exploring.

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