Poetry cannot bring back a son one has lost but it can capture his beauty, as this Jeanne Vote lyric does.
Tag Archives: death and dying
Remembering Rachel: Joyous, Pulsing
In a memorial service for my friend Rachel Kranz, I will talk about what her novels reveal about her.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Leaps of Faith, Mastery, memorial service, Rachel Kranz | Comments closed
Dead or Alive? Bureaucracy Decides
A Romanian man, presumed dead and unable to convince the authorities otherwise, recalls Doc Daneeka in “Catch 22.”
Grieving for a Loved One
Someone I love very dearly has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I turn to “Sonny’s Blues” and “King Lear” to find adequate words.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged cancer, King Lear, pancreatic cancer, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
Le Guin: To Refuse Death Is To Refuse Life
When Ursula K. Le Guin died yesterday, I thought of the “Farthest Shore,” the young adult novel where she grapples with humans’ fear of death.
Trump, 4 Dead Soldiers, & Col. Cathcart
Trump handled the death of the four Green Berets who died in Niger like Col. Cathcart in “Catch-22” would have. A better model would be Ned Stark in “Game of Thrones.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Barack Obama, Catch 22, commander in chief, Game of Thrones, George Martin, George W. Bush, Green Berets, Joseph Heller, military deaths | Comments closed
Will Warm Days Never Cease?
Changes in climate can cause us to see classic poems in a new light. Case in point: Keats’s “To Autumn.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "To Autumn", Autumn, climate change, John Keats, Seasons, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | Comments closed
A Blessing We Cannot Begin To Fathom
Jan Richardson reminds readers not to offer facile rationalizations to those who have lost loved ones. She also reassures that the heart a “stubborn and persistent pulse.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Blessing for the Brokenhearted", Jan Richardson | Comments closed
Clean Rooms, Despair of the Mind
Mary Oliver’s “University Hospital, Boston” captures my experience of having a friend in a hospital. Oliver understands the various ironies involved.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "University Hospital Boston", Mary Oliver, sickness | Comments closed
