Monthly Archives: May 2025

MAGA’s “Get Out of Sin Free” Pass

Browning poem on the antinomian thinker Johannes Agricola helps us understand some of Trump’s Christian followers.

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Understanding Murikami’s 1Q84

In which I explore the theme of toxic masculinity in Murakami’s “1Q84.”

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Irony and the GOP’s Big Beautiful Bill

The GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is perfect in its rottenness–like William Carlos Williams’ rotten apple in “Perfection.”

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On Those Who Fail to Honor the Fallen

In bitter satire, Siegfried Sassoon lashes those who cheer marching soldiers but ignore war’s victims. Imagine what he would have thought of Donald Trump.

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Religious Doubt in the Trenches

Looking ahead to Memorial Day, I share three Wildred Owen poems where he experiences significant religious doubt after spending time in the World War I trenches.

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1Q84 Provides Insight into MAGA

Murakami’s account of cult behavior in “1Q84” applies only to well to MAGA behavior in current day America.

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Flannery O’Connor’s DEI Revelation

In Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation,” we see the status anxiety that is driving many Americans towards reactionary politics.

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Calming Poetry for Tough Times

A calming poem by the most recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Marie Howe

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Artists Leading the Resistance

Artists like Bruce Springsteen are taking on Donald Trump, whose attacks on art and artists is straight out the fascist playbook.

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