A Wall Street Journal letter uses “Silas Marner” to blame the California wildfires on state agencies–thereby missing a chance to use it against the real culprit.
Author Archives: Robin Bates
George Eliot Applied to Climate Change
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged California wildfires, climate change, George Eliot, Silas Marner, Wall Street Journal Comments closed
Jesus, Defender of the Oppressed
Washington bishop Budde pleaded with Trump to be merciful, following in the tradition of Jesus and Nicagaruan poet Ernesto Cardenal.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Give Ear to My Words", Donald Trump, Ernesto Cardenal, Mariann Budde, Trump inauguration Comments closed
Le Guin: Imagining Trump Alternatives
In wrestling how to counter Trumpism, Le Guin counsels us to expand what we see as possible.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Dispossessed, Donald Trump, One Who Walk Away from Omelas, Ursula K. Le Guin, Utopian thinking Comments closed
Zadie Smith and Multicultural Tennis
A tennis episode in Zadie Smith’s “Swing Time” comes to mind after a minor blow-up at the Australian Open involving Ben Shelton, son of Bryan Shelton.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Australian Open, Ben Shelton, Bryan Shelton, Election 2024, multiculturalism, Swing Time, Zadie Smith Comments closed
On Odysseus & Trump’s Desecration
Odysseus lambasts the suitors for desecrating all that is holy. One can imagine him doing the same to Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged climate change, Covid, Donald Trump, Homer, Odyssey, World Health Organization Comments closed
MLK’s Lesson for the Trump Era
MLK’s birthday coinciding with a white supremacist ascending to the presidency reminds us that MLK refused to give up in the face of such reversals.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "We Are Soldiers", "which side are you on?", Civil Rights Movement, Lucille Clifton, Martin Luther King, Trump's inauguration Comments closed
Running into the Fire
Oliver and Whyte have poems about running toward fire, an unsettling metaphor during this fire season but thematically sound.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Fire in the Earth", "Fire", David Whyte, John the Baptist, Mary Oliver, Moses Comments closed
Franklin on Freedom of the Press
Benjamin Franklin’s poem about the necessity of a free press is remarkably timely.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "On the Freedom of the Press", Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Fox News, free press, Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch Comments closed
