When a Russian history professor died at our college, his colleagues turned to poetry as they wrestled with his premature death. Ovid, Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, and Walt Whitman provided powerful words.
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Tag Archives: death and dying
Poems To Mourn a Russian History Prof
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Song of Myself", Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Metamorphoses, Ovid, Walt Whitman | Comments closed
Doctors Need Lit To Stay Human
A doctor argues that continuous reading of literature is essential to keep doctors balanced and to help them deal with the problems that come with the profession.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "I measure every grief I meet", Colorless Tsukuru, Doctors, Emily Dickinson, Karen Joy Fowler, Kazuo Ishiguro, medical profession, Never Let Me Go, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves | Comments closed
Implore His Aid, in His Decisions Rest
The famous passage from Ecclesiastes–“All is vanity”–inspired a great poem by Samuel Johnson. Johnson’s final conclusion is that we can find happiness only in prayer.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Vanity of Human Wishes", greed, Prayer, Samuel Johnson, Suffering | Comments closed
Medicine & Lit, Working Together
Paul Kalinithi’s “When Breath Becomes Air” represents an ideal blending of science and the humanities, including literature. It’s a book we all should be reading.
Doctor Faustus: Lessons in Grieving
After watching two students turn to Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” as they grieved the death of parents, I have come to see the play as a powerful meditation upon how we respond to death.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, grieving | Comments closed
In Memory of Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, Jesuit activist and poet, died this past Saturday. His “A Dark Word” is a fitting way to note his passing.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Dark Word", analysis, Daniel Berrigan, John Donne, Meditation 17 | Comments closed
I Am the Dance and the Dance Goes On
At my eldest son’s funeral 16 years ago we sang “The Lord of the Dance.” Justin was a joyous dancer and I imagine him dancing somewhere, in some plane, whenever I hear the hymn.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Lord of the Dance", "Tis a Gift To Be Simple", "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", hymns, Justin Bates, Shiva, Sydney Carter | Comments closed
On the Death of a Controversial Judge
How long should one pause following the death of a public figure like Justice Antonin Scalia before considering the political implications? It’s an issue that also arises in Anthony Trollope’s “Barchester Towers.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Anthony Trollope, Antonin Scalia, Barchester Towers, politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court | Comments closed
Child Heroines Who Die for Our Sins
The child heroine who dies, a common trope in the 19th century, continues to fascinate us, appearing in “Bridge to Tarabithia” and “The Fault Is in Our Stars.” One of my students has this as a senior project topic.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Annabel Lee", Bridge to Tarabithia, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Children, Edgar Allan Poe, Feminism, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jane Eyre, Katherine Paterson, Little Women, Louisa Mae Alcott, Old Curiosity Shop, Uncle Tom's Cabin | Comments closed