For Juneteenth, a sampling of hopeful Lucille Clifton poems.
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Author Archives: Robin Bates
A Spirited Defense of Difficult Reading
Naomi Kanakia’s recent book, “What So Great about Great Books,” makes a compelling case for reading the classics. To which I can only say, Amen!
What to Make of the Resurgence of Macho
With Pete Hegseth’s over-the-top exhibition of macho, I look at the history of literary cuckold jokes, which reveal the anxieties of insecure men.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged As You Like It, Canterbury Tales, Christopher Marlowe, Country Wife, cuckold jokes, cuckolds, cuckservatives, Doctor Faustus, Donald Trump, Geoffrey Chaucer, Miller's Tale, Othello, Pete Hegseth, William Shakespeare, William Wycherley Comments closed
DJT’s Victory Claim vs. Reality
Robert Southey’s “After Blenheim” perfectly captures Trump’s claim of victory over Iran.
Man in High Castle Captures Life under DJT
Dick’s “Man in a High Castle” shows how easily Americans can adjust to autocracy—which makes it particularly relevant today.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged DJT, Man in the High Castle, Naziism, Philip K. Dick, Timothy Snyder, tyranny Comments closed
Made Whole by Their Hospitality
As Malcolm Guite makes clear, the story of Abraham and Sarah entertaining strangers is the call for us all to do the same. Thus are the barren made fertile.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Holy Thursday", "New Colossus", “Abraham and Sarah at Mamre", Emma Lazarus, Immigration, Malcolm Guite, William Blake Comments closed
How Sports Spurred My Literary Imagination
In which I examine my longtime relationship with sports, along with some of its literary associations.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Ties", "To Be of Use", Brian Gottfried, Dabney Stuart, Jean Renoir, Julius Caesar, Marge Piercy, Roger Federer, Rules of the Game, Sports, sprezzatura, tennis, Tobias Wilson-Bates, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Biopunk: Essential Sci Fi If We Are To Survive
In her dissertation, Majda Nizamič makes a compelling case that biopunk is one of the most important genres being written today.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged biopunk, biotechnology, Blood Music, Borne, Greg Bear, Jeff Vandermeer, Majda Nizamič, Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, Paolo Bacigalupi, Windup Girl Comments closed
Juvenal’s “Bread and Circuses” at the White House
Trump White House cage match is a modern version of the “bread and circuses” Juvenal describes in his Satire X.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Vanity of Human Wishes", Juvenal, Samuel Johnson, White House cage match Comments closed