Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” works as a Lenten poem but departs from medieval notions of what Lent involves.
Author Archives: Robin Bates
A Mary Oliver Poem for Lent
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Wild Geese", "For Lent 1966", Lent, Madeleine L'Engle, Mary Oliver, Nature, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Comments closed
Middlemarch and Trump vs. Expertise
Incompetence wins out over expertise in Eliot’s “Middlemarch.” And so it is proving to be the case in the Trump administration.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Covid, cronyism, George Eliot, medical expertise, Middlemarch Comments closed
Beowulf’s Advice for Battling Depression
Beowulf’s advice for battling dragon depression: don’t go it alone, which itself is a dragon trait.
Böll on Desperately Clinging to the Past
Heinrich Böll’s “Christmas Not Just Once a Year” captures the yearning to return to the past that animates many Trump supporters.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Christmas, Christmas Not Just Once a Year, Heinrich Böll, Nostalgia, Trumpism Comments closed
What Musk’s Favorite Books Reveal
In which I examine Musk’s favorite books to figure out what they reveal: Foundation Trilogy, Stranger in a Strange Land, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Atlas Shrugged, Waiting for Godot, and Lord of the Rings.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Any Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Elon Musk, Foundation Trilogy, Golden age of science fiction, Isaac Asimov, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joseph Heller, Lord of the Rings, Robert Heinlein, Samuel Beckett, Stranger in a Strange Land, Waiting for Godot Comments closed
Trump as Putin’s Luca Brasi
The GOP’s switch from anti- to pro-Russia is like switching from Eurasia to Eastasia in “1984.” But rather than resembling mob boss Don Corleone in the scenario, Trump is more like Putin’s Luca Brasi.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Godfather, J.D. Vance, Lindsey Graham, Mario Puzo, mob boss politics, Russo-Ukraine War, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky Comments closed
Erdrich, Snakes, and the Transfiguration
Erdrich’s “Sermon to the Snakes” in “Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse” probes the question of whether God’s love drives the universe.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged " Transfiguration, Catholicism, God's love, Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse, Louise Erdrich, Ojibwe Nation, snakes Comments closed
Trump vs. Zelensky, Harpy vs. Eagle
Trump and Vance attacking Zelensky is like the harpies of the shore plucking the eagle of the sea in Holmes’s “Old Ironsides.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Old Ironsides, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky Comments closed
Cixin Liu Predicted Musk-Style Takeover
Cixin Liu’s sci-fi thriller anticipates an Elon Musk-style takeover.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Cixin Liu, dystopian sci fi, Elon Musk, Octavia Butler, speculative fiction, Three-Body Problem Comments closed
