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.
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Zadie Smith and Multicultural Tennis
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
Shakespeare in a Divided America
Shapiro’s “Shakespeare in a Divided America” shows that the Bard has made an appearance in most of American history’s key moments.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged censorship, Hamlet, James Shapiro, Julius Caesar, MAGA, Merchant of Venice, Othello, Romeo and Juiet, Shakespeare in a Divided America, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Trump and Satan, Both Miserable
Trump is as miserable as Milton’s Satan (and also a character in a Trollope novel). Unfortunately, like Satan, he does all he can to pull others into his well of misery.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Anthony Trollope, Beowulf, Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Donald Trump, John Milton, Paradise Lost, resentment, ressentiment, Small House at Allingham Comments closed
Ignorant Armies Clashing by Night
Arnold’s “Dover Beach” describes our own world but also provides us with a way forward.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Dover Beach", "Dover Bitch", Anthony Hecht, Culture and Anarchy, Matthew Arnold, Study in Poetry, Terry Eagleton Comments closed