I announce my forthcoming book and contrast it with a similar book–“Dangerous Fictions”–coming out soon.
Tag Archives: Christopher Marlowe
Why Fiction Terrifies People
Trumpian Darkness or True Light? Choose
Trump and many of his fans twist themselves in the perpetual torment of their resentment and anger. Henry Vaughan describes their state in “The World.”
A GOP Senator as Doctor Faustus
Mitt Romney has accused Sen. J.D. Vance for selling himself “so cheap.” Think of the “Hillbilly Elegy” author as Faustus.
Hawthorne Explains the Eternal Sin
Hawthorne explores what Jesus means by the “eternal sin” in a number of stories, including “Scarlet Letter.”
Who Gets to Be Called “Dr.”?
Alexandra Petri satirizes a dismissal of Jill Biden’s doctorate by imagining herself as Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
Does Lit Lead to Illicit Sex?
Dante’s beautifully tragic account of Paolo and Francesca captures–as many great works do–the dangers of total absorption in a relationship.
Better Living through Virgil
When lost in deep depression, Dante turns to his favorite author, Virgil, to help him out.
The Meaning of Hell
Spiritual Sunday Stephen Greenblatt, the world’s preeminent Shakespearean, has an article about hell in the latest issue of the New York Review of Books that has me thinking about a subject I generally avoid. It’s a smart piece but fairly grim. For the most part, my view of hell is the one set forth in […]

