Tag Archives: Emily Dickinson

Doctors Need Lit To Stay Human

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2016

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, death and dying, Doctors, Karen Joy Fowler, Kazuo Ishiguro, medical profession, Never Let Me Go, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves | Comments closed

Emily Dickinson’s “Smart Misery” of Doubt

By Robin Bates | Published: July 23, 2016

Emily Dickinson struggled with religious doubt all of her life. Because she desperately wanted to belief, some of her poems show her faith being tested.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Of Course I Prayed", "The World is not Conclusion", belief, Bible, Christianity, Doubt, Faith, Jesus, John Calvin | Comments closed

To Strengthen Your Caring, Read Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: November 26, 2015

When we become numb to the world’s horrors, the problem is not the numbness but the insufficient attention paid. Reading lit can help us overcome compassion fatigue

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged compassion fatigue, Iris Murdoch, mass media, Plato, Simone Weil | Comments closed

What Does It Mean to Hope against Hope?

By Robin Bates | Published: October 15, 2014

What does it mean to hope against hope? Emily Dickinson and an analytic philosopher weigh in.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Hope is the thing with feathers", Adrienne Martin, analysis, analytic philosophy, hope | Comments closed

To Hear an Oriole Sing

By Robin Bates | Published: July 26, 2014

I use an Emily Dickinson poem to root for my favorite baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "To Hear an Oriole Sing", Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Sports | Comments closed

Eating and Drinking the Precious Words

By Robin Bates | Published: May 7, 2014

An Emily Dickinson poem that will remind my graduating seniors to keep reading.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "He ate and drank the precious words", reading | Comments closed

Waiting for the Tide to Turn

By Robin Bates | Published: August 23, 2013

Dickinson, Coleridge and Dickens come to mind as we await the moment of my father’s death.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "After great pain a formal feeling comes", Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, death and dying, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge | Comments closed

What Liberty a Loosened Spirit Brings

By Robin Bates | Published: June 30, 2013

Although she didn’t go to church, Emily Dickinson was spiritually uplifted by reading the Bible.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "He ate and drank the precious words", Spirituality, the Bible | Comments closed

Ah, Those Sensuous Summer Days

By Robin Bates | Published: June 21, 2013

Emily Dickinson has written the most passionate summer poem I know.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "I tase a liquor never brewed", summer | Comments closed