Nobel laureate Thomas Tranströmer’s poem “After a Death” accurately captures how it feels to lose someone you love.
Tag Archives: Beowulf
Après Peyton, le Déluge
News that Peyton Manning may be out for part or all of the upcoming football season puts me in mind of the future of the Geats after Beowulf’s death.
Top Gun Takes Down Grendel’s Mom
An unexpected parallel between “Beowulf” and the Tom Cruse film “Top Gun” has given me new appreciation for the 8th century Anglo-Saxon epic and a deeper insight into how at least some guys in the military handle grief.
Judge Doty in the Role of Deus ex Machina
Sports Saturday Negotiations between the National Football League owners and the Players Association were at an impasse. The owners locking out the players seemed all but inevitable, along with suspension of the 2011 season. Then the goddess Athena stepped in. Taking the form of U.S. District Judge David Doty, she ordered the two sides to […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged blood feuds, Football, Homer, labor negotiation, Odyssey, Sports Comments closed
Lost Paradise Syndrome in Tucson
Spiritual Sunday As I teach Beowulf for the umpteenth time, I am struck once again by its beautiful rendition of the Genesis creation story. I’m also struck by how the invocation of that beauty calls forth human horror. Exploring the linkage provides some insight into the mass killings we have almost come to expect. The […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged John Milton, Paradise Lost, Religion, Tucson killings, violence Comments closed
