This Rumi poem explains the mystical power of Ramadan fasting, which begins tomorrow or Tuesday.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Be Empty and Cry As a Reed Instrument
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "There's a hidden sweetness", Fasting, Prayer, Ramadan, Rumi Comments closed
Wilmot, Women, and Sexual Pleasure
Apparently the 17th century experienced a small boom in sex toys–which brings John Wilmot’s poetry to mind.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Signior Dildo", "To a Lady in a Lady", Aphra Behn, John Wilmot, Rover, sexuality Comments closed
Earth-Hearted Hope for Dark Times
How to maintain hope in the face of catastrophic climate change? Hope is key, as Emily Dickinson and John Muir understood.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Hope is the thing with feathers", climate change, despair, Donald Trump, Emily Dickinson, Environmentalism, global warming, Green Gospel, hope, John Gatta, John Muir Comments closed
Quiz: Beowulf or Ikea?
A Beowulf quiz: Can you distinguish Beowulf names from Ikea furniture?
Even Dead Trees Cast a Shadow
Gilpin’s poem “Life after Death” prompts us to honor those who have gone before.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged ancestors, cycle of life, death, Laura Gilpin, life after death Comments closed
Biopunk and a Judge’s IVF Ruling
Biopunk is a genre that arose in the 1990’s in response to questions about what it means to be human given the rapid advance of biotechnology.
Imagining a New Creation
In “Green Gospel,” Gatta imagines notions of sin and salvation applied to nature.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Then Will Come Soft Rain", "What stood will stand, Green Gospel, John Gatta, John Milton, Nature, Paradise Lost, Sarah Teasdale, though all be fallen", Wendell Berry Comments closed
Literature in Time of War
Poetry has always been present in times of war but with mixed success at improving conditions.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged burning books, Ernest Hemingway, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hitler, Homer, Iliad, King John, Louis Untemeyer, Modern American and British Poetry, Nadezhda Mandelstam, Osip Mandelstam, Robert Graves, Stalin, Uncle Tom's Cabin, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Tim Scott’s Self-Debasement
Sen. Tim Scott’s self-abasement before Donald Trump brings to mind various “Uncle Tom” poems written by Black authors.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "All of Us Are All of Us", "robert", "Uncle Tom", Donald Trump, Harriet Beecher Stowe, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Lindsey Graham, Lucille Clifton, racism, Tim Scott, Uncle Tom's Cabin Comments closed
