Trump, like Mac the Knife, is an escape artist extraordinaire. Might a presidential pardon save him as a reprieve saves Mac?
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Tag Archives: Bertolt Brecht
On Mac the Knife & Presidential Pardons
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beggar's Opera, Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, presidential pardons, Three Penny Opera Comments closed
Brecht on Speaking Truth to Power
Monday A Bertolt Brecht poem came to mind when Retired Navy Admiral William H. McRaven came to the defense of former CIA Director John Brennan, stripped of his security clearance by a Donald Trump angry at his criticisms. Vox has the story of what happened: The man who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Burning of the Books", 1984, Donald Trump, George Orwell, John Brennan, Rudy Giuliani, William H. McRaven Comments closed
My “Last Lecture”
I share here my “last lecture” from my retirement ceremony. (But rest assured: I will not be retiring from this blog.)
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aristotle, Chinua Achebe, Divine Comedy, Goethe, Heart of Darkness, Horace, Huckleberry Finn, integration, Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain, Martha Nussbaum Wayne Booth, Matthew Arnold, Percy Shelley, Plato, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Samuel Johnson, segregation, Sir Philip Sydney, Terry Eagleton, W. E. B. Du Bois, Wayne Booth Comments closed
Theories about Lit’s Impact
A transcript of a talk given at the University of Ljubljana on “how literature changes lives.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aristotle, Chinua Achebe, Frederick Engel, Horace, Karl Marx, Martha Nussbaum, Matthew Arnold, Percy Shelley, Plato, Rachel Blau du Plessis, Samuel Johnson, Sir Philip Sidney, Wayne Booth Comments closed
Brecht Quatrains for Challenging Times
During World War II Bertolt Brecht wrote quatrains that speak powerfully to our own political times.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Adolph Hitler, Donald Trump, refugees, war, War Primer Comments closed
Brecht Explains Castile Shooting
To understand why cops continue to shoot innocent people of color and why juries acquit them, Brecht has the definitive explanation in his play “The Exception and the Rule.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Black Lives Matter, cop killings, Exception and the Rule, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice Comments closed
The World’s One Hope: Compassion
Bertolt Brecht’s “”The World One Hope” addresses the problem of growing callousness but then points to how we can break through to compassion.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "World's One Hope", discrimination, Donald Trump, GOP, oppression, Trumpism Comments closed
Brecht’s Working Class Revenge Fantasy
Many working class and lower middle class Americans have felt abandoned by the GOP and Democratic establishments. Bertolt Brecht’s “Pirate Jenny” articulates a revenge fantasy that captures some of their anger.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Pirate Jenny", Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, politics, Presidential Primaries Comments closed
Why It’s Good To Offend Students
An entering Duke student has refused to read Alison Bechdel’s “Fun House.” A professor comes partially to his defense.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Burning of the Books", Alison Bechdel, censorship, college life, Franz Kafka, freshman orientation, Fun House, homosexuality, reader response Comments closed