Kate Atkinson is masterful in how she sprinkles literary allusions throughout her novels, which give her special insight into challenging subjects such as death.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Tag Archives: death and dying
On Atkinson, Trollope, and Death
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, God in Ruins, Kate Atkinson, Last Chronicle of Barset, Warden | Comments closed
Remembering Our Loved Ones
In which I explain why Ljubljana is a special place to remember my oldest son. Rossetti’s “Remember Me” brings him back.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Remember Me", All Souls Day, Christine Rossetti, Slovenia | Comments closed
The Green Knight’s Lesson: Love Life
A Loren Eiseley passage on seeing his blood put me in mind of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Gawain has a similar revelation.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "In Blackwater Woods", Barbara Kingsolver, Loren Eiseley, Marie Borroff, Marie Popova, Mary Oliver, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | Comments closed
Happy Marriages Are NOT All Alike
For my wedding anniversary, I turn to my favorite literary couple: Levin and Kitty in “Anna Karenina.”
The Novel that Moved Me the Most in 2023
Through O’Farrell’s “Hamnet,” I found myself mourning my own son.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Blue Sword, grieving, Hamlet, Hamnet, Hero and the Crown, Maggie O'Farrell, Robin McKinley, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
Sir Gawain and the Winter Solstice
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” pits paganism’s Winter Solstice against Christmas. But reconciliation is possible.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Charles Dickens, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Winter solstice | Comments closed
Beowulf’s Lessons in How to Grieve
Hamlet, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight each show us powerful ways to grieve.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Angus Fletcher, Beowulf, grieving, Hamlet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, William Shakespeare, Wonderworks | Comments closed
Euripides on the Loss of a Child
Euripides helped philosopher Nussbaum handle the death of her daughter. This is one of literature’s great gifts.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged death of a child, Euripides, Martha Nussbaum, Trojan Women | Comments closed
A Moses Poem for a Lost Child
Mourning her dead child, this writer chose to read a poem echoing the infant Moses story.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Cargoes", "Jabberwocky", "Late Fragment", "Moses", "Sonnet 29", "Taking Care", "Theme in Yellow", Calista Buchen, Carl Sandburg, child's death, John Masefield, Lewis Carroll, Luis Alberto de Cuenca, Raymon Carver, William Shakespeare | Comments closed