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.
Author Archives: Robin Bates
1Q84 Provides Insight into MAGA
Murakami’s account of cult behavior in “1Q84” applies only to well to MAGA behavior in current day America.
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Fascism, Flannery O'Connor, racism, Revelation, status anxiety Leave a comment
Calming Poetry for Tough Times
A calming poem by the most recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Marie Howe
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Badlands", Bruce Springsteen, Donald Trump, Fascism, Greg Olear, John Pavlovitz Leave a comment
Unless Forced, Resist the Urge to Flee
This Cavafy poem warns about leaving a country because of our disappointment. It’s a useful caution for those who fantasize leaving Trump’s America.
Rossetti and the 2nd Great Commandment
One of Jesus’s last commands to his followers was to love each other. Christina Rossetti captures the beautiful message in the conclusion to “Goblin Market.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged A. S. Byatt, Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market, God's love, love, possession Leave a comment
Trump Takes a Page out of Dead Souls
Trump resembles the two conmen in Nikolai Gogol’s “Dead Souls.” But where he was once like the flamboyant Nozdrev, he has evolved to the more insidious Chichikov.
Diplomacy thru Lit Aided Václav Havel
The recent deceased Luers, when Czechoslovak ambassador in the early 1980s, used American writers to support dissident Václav Havel, later president.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged dissenters, Fletcher Burton, Franz Kafka, theater of the absurd, Václav Haval Leave a comment
