Monthly Archives: January 2024

A Hopeful Poem for Dark Times

By Robin Bates | Published: January 31, 2024

Maya Angelou’s visionary poem “A Brave and Startling Truth” reminds us of what human beings can be when they are at their best.

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Taylor Swift as Snow White

By Robin Bates | Published: January 30, 2024

Trump’s jealousy of Taylor Swift resembles that of the evil queen in “Snow White.” Anne Sexton’s own Snow White poem explains how jealousy works.

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Trump as Captain Queeg

By Robin Bates | Published: January 29, 2024

Donald Trump as Captain Queeg and the captain in Eggers’s novel “Captain and the Glory.”

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You, Governor Haley, Are No Beowulf

By Robin Bates | Published: January 28, 2024

Trump may be a Grendel but unfortunately Nikki Haley is no Beowulf.

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Thrown and Raised at the Same Moment

By Robin Bates | Published: January 27, 2024

Note: If you wish to receive, via e-mail, (1) my weekly newsletter or (2) daily copies of these posts, notify me at [email protected] and indicate which you would like. I promise not to share your e-mail address with anyone. To unsubscribe, send me a follow-up email. Sunday This past Wednesday was “the Feast of the Conversion of Saint […]

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The Team Named After a Poem

By Robin Bates | Published: January 25, 2024

The Baltimore Ravens, headed for the AFC championship game, are the only team named after a poem. In some ways, the poem fits them.

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Will AI Be Used To Suppress Votes?

By Robin Bates | Published: January 24, 2024

In 1973, an Angela Carter predicted the power of unreality to take over our lives. In 2024, AI may be proving her right.

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Dreams of Flying South

By Robin Bates | Published: January 23, 2024

In “The Hunchback Who Thought He Was a Swallow,” Scott Bates features a poor man who dreams of transcending his earthly limitations.

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Upon the Meaning of Feeling Guilty

By Robin Bates | Published: January 22, 2024

In which I reflect upon why we feel guilty for things beyond our control. Anouilh’s “Antigone” and a Clifton poem enter into the exploration.

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