Biblical stories of violence confront us with wrenching questions. Rabbi Rebecca Barenblat’s poems grapple with it.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Trump’s Lean and Hungry Plotters
There is a tide in the affairs of Trump supporters that, taken at the flood, will lead them to do anything to take power. “Julius Caesar” is warning us.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged coup attempts, crossing the Rubicon, Donald Trump, January 6 insurrection, Julius Caesar, Steve Bannon, William Shakespeare Comments closed
My Brilliant Friend, Cure for Loneliness?
The child perspective in Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” creates a special bond with the reader.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angus Fletcher, Charlotte Bronte, Childhood, Company We Keep, Elena Ferrante, Emily Bronte, first person point of view, Hamlet, Jane Eyre, John Knowles, My Brilliant Friend, opera, penny dreadfuls, Separate Peace, Wayne Booth, William Shakespeare, Wonderworks, Wuthering Heights Comments closed
Swift Understood Trumpian Fascism
Trump’s use of “vermin” to characterize his enemies is fascist talk. “Gulliver’s Travels” shows where such talk can lead.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged American fascism, dehumanization, Donald Trump, Fascism, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift Comments closed
Biden Is No Beowulf–And That’s Okay
Biden lacks Beowulf’s leadership charisma but has other gifts, ones recognized by Wiglaf.
A Vet Sees Himself in Odysseus
In Huey’s poem, a veteran who has seen combat frames his experience in terms of “The Odyssey.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "We Were All Odysseus in Those Days", Amorak Huey, Homer, Odyssey, Saving Private Ryan, Veterans, Veterans Day, war Comments closed
Dante’s Version of Heaven on Earth
In talking to Solomon in Paradiso, Dante gets a new vision of heaven on earth.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "World", Birches, Dante, Heaven on earth, Henry Vaughan, Inferno, Paradiso, Robert Frost Comments closed
Imagining Trump as Kafka’s K.
Satirist Petri imagines Trump as Kafka’s K–but in this case Trump’s mind, not the court, is Kafkaesque.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Franz Kafka, judicial system, Trial, Trump bank fraud case Comments closed
Brecht, Hitler’s Coup Attempt, and Jan. 6
Reacting to Hitler, Brecht expressed frustration as the ineffectiveness of crying out. Today, the 100th anniversary of Hitler’s coup attempts, resembles January 6, 2021.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Bad Time for Poetry", "When Evil-Doing Comes Like Falling Rain", Beer House Putsch, Bertolt Brecht, Donald Trump, Fascism, January 6 insurrection, Media Comments closed
