Monthly Archives: March 2026

Epstein, Trump as Humbert Humbert

Now that Trump has been credibly accused me of pedophilic acts, I turned to literary mentions of pedophilia, especially “Lolita.”

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“Useful Knowledge” vs. Literature

The attacks of rich elites on public education is an attempt to dumb down the working class.

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Wilfred Owen on Murderous War Leaders

In “Parable of the Old Man and the Young,” Wilfred Owen calls out the war mongers who sacrifice their youth. The poem applies only too well to our current leaders.

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MAGA Christians Fall for Satan’s Temptations

We’re hearing reports to certain American military commanders viewing the Iran attack as ordered by Jesus. The need to revisit the account of Satan’s temptation of Jesus (along with Milton’s version).

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“Better Living” Emerged from a Midnight Epiphany

In the latest installment of “A Life Lived in Literature,” I recount the origins of “Better Living through Beowulf.”

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Trump’s Duck Soup of a War

Trump’s Tehran bombing is like a mash-up of George Orwell and the Marx Brothers.

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Nabokov and a Timeshare Nightmare

A nightmare timeshare story had me returning to Nabokov’s “Cloud, Castle, Lake.”

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Hockey, Trump, and Ellison’s Invisible Man

The unfortunate aftermath of the American hockey victory has me thinking of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Some explaining is required.

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Brother Fire Unleased upon Tehran

The bombing of Tehran brings to mind Louis MacNeice’s “Brother Fire,” about the London blitzkrieg. 15 years ago I wrote about the poem as the U.S. was about to bomb Libya.

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