The damaging of the Russian bridge to Crimea brings to mind “Bridge on the River Kwai”–although it’s closer to the movie than to the novel.
Tag Archives: existentialism
The Bridge on the Black Sea
Leaves Condemned to Be Free
Scott Bates offers this humorous existentialist meditation on falling leaves.
A Serene Way to Deal with Chaos
Scott Bates’s humorous fable “The Contented Weed” offers a serene way to handle everything that life throws at us.
Sherlock: Hard-Boiled or Soft-Boiled?
Tuesday I share today an Alexis Hall essay I encountered in CrimeReads arguing that Sherlock Holmes is a hard-boiled detective. (Thanks to Literary Hub for the alert.) For those who study detective fiction, the thesis is startling because Holmes is generally grouped with the soft-boiled or puzzle-solving detectives, more like Dupin, Poirot, Miss Marple, Nero […]
Murakami and Millennials’ Identity Quests
Murakami’s novels appeal to millennials because they are existential parables, and young people are grappling with life’s big questions, especially identity and purpose.
A Weed’s Zen Acceptance of Fate
If you’re hostile towards garden weeds these days, here’s a very Zen-like Scott Bates poem from a weed’s point of view. Or maybe it’s an existentialist parable about free will.
Art Is the Path to Liberation
Nick Brown, a very bright philosophy and English double major, reflects on how to live a worthwhile life. An aesthetic approach to life is at the core of his argument.
The World’s a Stage–Choose Your Part
In his senior project, one of my students uses literature to examine life and literature to engage with it.
Two Parables Involving Falling Leaves
Scott Bates and Lucille Clifton find poetic lessons in falling leaves.