Tag Archives: D. H. Lawrence

Read to Grapple with Climate Change

By Robin Bates | Published: July 27, 2020

Sian Cain uses literature to grapple with her decision, in light of climate change, not to have children.

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The Dreadful Sound of Trump (not that one)

By Robin Bates | Published: August 20, 2019

Wednesday On Monday I hosted what proved to be a lovely luncheon (an onion tart, ratatouille, and a trifle) for Vanderbilt University Librarian Valerie Hotchkiss, who was in Sewanee to discuss a presentation I will be giving at the university on the card game Speculation. Jane Austen fans will recognize it as the game played […]

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Poaching: A Revenge Fantasy

By Robin Bates | Published: April 11, 2019

Friday I found myself enjoying a recent news report about animals striking back. First an elephant killed a South African rhino poacher before he could do any damage and then the man’s body was eaten by lions. As someone tweeted, the animals had each other’s backs. D. H. Lawrence vents our rage against such poachers […]

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Taking America for a Wild Ride

By Robin Bates | Published: March 27, 2019

I received an e-mail from reader Donna Raskin about how D. H Lawrence’s harrowing short story “the Rocking Horse Winner” reminds her of Donald Trump, and I instantly saw the connection. The story seems even more relevant with the recent publication of Vicky Ward’s Kushner, Inc.: Greed Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner […]

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I Weep Like a Child for the Past

By Robin Bates | Published: May 23, 2018

Returning to my childhood home, I thought of one of the great poems about nostalgia, D. H. Lawrence’s “Piano.”

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D. H. Lawrence: People in Thrall to Things

By Robin Bates | Published: April 26, 2018

D. H. Lawrence’s story “Things” features, among other things, a returning ex-pat couple trying to figure out what to do with all their things. I’m currently sympathetic with their predicament.

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A Little Bit Chipped Off in Brilliance

By Robin Bates | Published: July 26, 2017

D. H. Lawrence’s poem “Hummingbird” works as a kind of trance, out of which we must be jolted lest we be swallowed up.

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Stop and Smell Mary’s Perfume

By Robin Bates | Published: March 12, 2016

The scene in John where Mary anoints Jesus’s feet with a costly perfume, Judas, who chastises her for wastefulness, reminds me of those earnest activists who can’t stop and smell the perfume. D. H. Lawrence explores a similar theme in “The Man Who Died.”

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For a Rich Life, Read Widely and Freely

By Robin Bates | Published: October 27, 2015

Literature impacts our lives but the influence is best if we read a wide variety of works. Limiting ourselves to just a few authors can warp us.

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