Tag Archives: homophobia

All Must Love the Human Form

In “The Divine Image,” Blake gives us a poem for our time, a call to pray for mercy, pity, peace, and love and to recognize the human form in diversity. In “The Human Abstract” he adds that prayer is not enough. It must be accompanied by human justice.

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Entering a Brave New Trumpist World

In which I reflect upon my students’ shock upon Donald Trump’s victory. Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” and Flannery O’Connor’s “All That Rises Must Converge” figure into the discussion.

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Reflections on Art for Art’s Sake

The art for art’s sake movement buoyed Oscar Wilde in the 1890s, but it’s not a philosophy that works well in every age.

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Euripides Explains Anti-LGBTQ Votes

The North Carolina state legislature recently passed anti-LBGTQ legislation which, among other things, forbids transgender individuals from using the bathrooms of their chosen gender identity. Euripides provides some insight into hostility against crossdressers in “The Bacchae.”

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Memorializing Gay Martyrs in Poetry

Uganda’s new anti-gay legislation reminds me of a Mark Doty poem about a Bangor, Maine killing 30 years ago.

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Mississippi Football and Homophobia

When Mississippi football players hurled insults as “The Laramie Project,” educators were presented with a teachable moment.

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Bigotry = A Loathsome Lack of Imagination

Murakami says that the worst thing about bigots is that they are hollow men devoid of imagination.

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