Sometimes as teachers we forget students that we impacted greatly. Thomas Hardy’s Jude learns this when he looks up his old teacher Phillotson.
Tag Archives: Herman Melville
On Forgetting Old Students
Trump as Melville’s Confidence Man
Why, in the words of Nicholas Kristof, do we think of Hillary as “a slippery, compulsive liar” and Donald Trump as “a gutsy truth-teller.” Herman Melville gives us a compelling explanation in “The Confidence Man.”
Lily, Achilles, Bertha & Ishmael on Vacation
Lily Bart, Bertha Mason, Achilles, Ishmael and Queequeg all go on vacation. Where do they go?
Political Consultants Should Read Lit
Which literary works would you recommend to a political consultant to stay in touch with his or her soul and avoid becoming lost in the dark side? How about Hawthorne, Melville, Shakespeare, Pinter, and Terrence McNally?
Whitman, Melville & Abolitionism
Walt Whitman and Herman Melville’s revolutionary visions of egalitarian societies shaped how Abolitionists thought about America’s potential.
An Ideal Place to Study Lit
A summer institute where one buries oneself in books is my version of James Hilton’s Shangri-La.
Benito Cereno on War, Racism
A story of two students who found themselves using “Benito Cereno” to sort through two of the biggest issues that Americans face.

