Poetry has always been present in times of war but with mixed success at improving conditions.
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Tag Archives: Iliad
Literature in Time of War
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged burning books, Ernest Hemingway, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hitler, Homer, King John, Louis Untemeyer, Modern American and British Poetry, Nadezhda Mandelstam, Osip Mandelstam, Robert Graves, Stalin, Uncle Tom's Cabin, William Shakespeare Comments closed
How Lit Inspires Courage and Love
Fletcher in “Masterworks” argues that epic narrative can boost courage and lyric disclosure can do the same for love.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Fragment 16", "He seems to me a god", Angus Fletcher, courage, Homer, literature as self help, love, Masterworks, Odyssey, Sappho Comments closed
On Trump, Achilles, and Retribution
Trump has been threatening retribution on his enemies. The Iliad shows the corrosive effects of revenge.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Homer, laws of hospitality, revenge, ritual Comments closed
Is Your Life Epic? Ask the Gods
A visit to an Irish literature museum alerted me to this Patrick Kavanagh about what makes something epic.
Homeric Tactics Anticipate Ukraine’s
War scenes from the Iliad bring to mind the Battle of Bakhmut–especially when it comes to superior Ukrainian intelligence gathering.
Paris, Trump, and Accountability
The way Priam enables Paris is similar to how the GOP enables Trump. Utter disaster awaits.
On Homer and Rethinking My Father
The famous scene of Hector and Andromache has given me a new perspective on my father’s fatalism.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged determinism, fatalism, Homer, Kurt Vonnegut, Scott Bates Comments closed
Odysseus’s Authoritarian Power Play
Homer shows the dynamics of authoritarianism at work in an “Iliad” incident where Odysseus disciplines a critic of the Greek mission.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged authoritarianism, Fascism, Homer, John Stoehr, Laughter, police violence, Thomas Hobbes, white supremacy Comments closed
Homer’s Masterclass in Leadership
Homer’s “Iliad” functions as a leadership clinic. So don’t heed Plato’s dismissal of the poet.