Today being Pearl Harbor Day, I share a Gwendolyn Brooks poem about a mother who loses her son to the war.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Dec. 7 & Watching One’s Son Go to War
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "sonnet-ballad", Gwendolyn Brooks, Scott Bates, World War II Comments closed
Pachinko and the Miracle of Teaching
Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko” has a scene that goes to the heart of literature teaching.
Burns on December (and Austen on Burns)
In “Thou Gloomy December,” Burns mourns a sad parting. While I enjoy Burns, I also enjoy Austen’s satiric takedown of the poet in “Sanditon.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Thou Gloomy December", December, Jane Austen, Robert Burns, Sanditon Comments closed
George Eliot’s Humanism
George Eliot’s “Middlemarch” was instrumental in developing a new humanism.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angus Fletcher, George Eliot, humanism, Ludwig Feuerbach, Middlemarch, sense of duty, Wonderworks Comments closed
A Shadow Falls, the Book Glows
As we enter a season of darkness, this Rilke poem reminds us to listen for the numinous.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "You Come and Go", Advent, Dante, Inferno, Rainer Maria Rilke Comments closed
Hamlet Taught Us a New Way to Grieve
In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare taught the world a powerful new way to grieve.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angus Fletcher, Beowulf, grieving, Hamlet, W;t, William Shakespeare, Wonderworks Comments closed
Does Hamlet Speak for Generation Z?
Note: If you wish to receive, via e-mail, (1) my weekly newsletter or (2) daily copies of these posts, notify me at [email protected] and indicate which you would like. I promise not to share your e-mail address with anyone. To unsubscribe, send me a follow-up email. Wednesday My faculty reading group has plunged into Hamlet, and our engagement […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2024 election, America's youth, Donald Trump, Generation Z, Hamlet, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Biden and Auden’s Unknown Citizen
Auden’s “Unknown Citizen” looks better now than when the poet wrote the poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Unknown Citizen", Donald Trump, Election 2024, Joe Biden, MAGA, W. H. Auden Comments closed
