A judge read Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago” as she issued an injunction against federal agents sent by the Trump administration.
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Monthly Archives: November 2025
Chicago’s Big Shoulders vs. ICE
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Chicago", Carl Sandburg, ICE, Judge Sara Ellis, Operation Midway Blitz Comments closed
Why I Majored in History, Not English
Continuing my memoir, I look at why I majored in history, not English, at Carleton College, even though lit was my great love.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Antonio Gramsci, Denis Diderot, French Revolution, Jean Jacques Rousseau, organic intellectual, Vietnam War Comments closed
A Novel Predicted A.I., Zoom, the Internet
Forster’s 1913 novella predicted how our lives would one day be ruled by the internet and A.I.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged A.I., Becky Chambers, Direction of the Road, dystopian fiction, E.M. Forster, Greg Olear, Internet, Machine Stops, Psalm for the Wild-Built, Ursula K Le Guin Comments closed
They Oz You Up, Your Mandias
A double parody to lighten your mood—on “Ozymandias” and Larkin’s “This Be the Verse.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Ozymandias", "This Be the Verse", “They Oz you up your mandias", parody, Percy Shelley, Phil Larkin Comments closed
The Trap of Toxic Masculinity
Toxic masculinity is defining the Trump administration. Authors such as William Wycherley and Adrienne Rich recognize the dangers.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged “Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband", "Knight", Adrienne Rich, Country Wife, cuckolding, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Pete Hegseth, toxic masculinity, William Wycherley Comments closed
DJT Goes Gatsby but Think Dickens
Trump’s weekend Gatsby-style party brings to mind another novel: Dickens’s “Tale of Two Cities.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Charles Dickens, Donald Trump, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, Tale of Two Cities Comments closed
The Leaves Where You Walk Do Not Stir
A haunting All Souls’ Day poem by Frances Bellerby imagines walking through fallen leaves with a loved one who has passed.