Columnist George Will calls Mike Pence a cross between Elmer Gantry and Uriah Heep. I see the two and raise to a Dante sycophant and Shakespeare’s Cassius.
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Tag Archives: Dante
Mike Pence=Elmer Gantry + Uriah Heep
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Elmer Gantry, Inferno, Julius Caesar, Mike Pence, Sinclair Lewis, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Lit for Survivors Lost in a Dark Wood
Monday Commonweal recently published a heartfelt article by West Point visiting English professor Cassandra Nelson on how literature can help trauma survivors recover. Nelson begins with an angry comment about a University of Chicago dean’s facile dismissal of trigger warnings, even though she herself opposes them. She, however, speaks from the vantage point of one […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bluest Eye, Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Child Abuse, Inferno, Junot Diaz, PTSD, Toni Morrison, trauma, trigger warnings Comments closed
Irma as Milton’s & Dante’s Infernos
If one thinks of a hurricane “eye” as an anus, then the winds from hell take on a different resonance–especially when seen through Milton’s and Dante’s eyes.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Divine Comedy, Hurricane Irma, hurricanes, Inferno, John Milton, Paradise Lost Comments closed
Flattering Trump Is Like Wallowing in S***
Donald Trump is surrounding himself with flatterers. Dante has a graphic account of where such people end up in Inferno.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Anthony Scaramucci, Divine Comedy, Donald Trump, flattery, Inferno Comments closed
Envy, the Sin That Blinds
In this week’s poker essay by novelist Rachel Kranz, envy is described as the one deadly sin that gives no pleasure at all.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, envy, Poker, Rachel Kranz Comments closed
Dante’s Love: Hot Coals Unconsumed
Solomon plays an important role in Dante’s “Paradiso” become he combines earthly sensuality and celestial wisdom. I find this to be a healthier vision than those who elevate the spirit over the body.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Divine Comedy, Paradiso, Solomon, Song of Solomon Comments closed
Fighting Lit’s Culture Wars Again?!
A recent Wall Street Journal column is attempting to revive the 1990s culture wars over literature.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged culture wars, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare Comments closed
The Divine Comedy, Doggerel Version
For a change of pace as we enter the Christmas season, I share here a light, witty, and very smart poem by my father on Dante’s Divine Comedy. The poem grew out of research that he was doing on Guillaume Apollinaire, the French poet who has been his scholarly subject. Don’t worry if you don’t […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Dante Dance", Add new tag, Christmas, Divine Comedy, Scott Bates Comments closed