Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post alludes to Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” as she wonders whether Hillary Clinton should be subjected to witch trials to figure out what’s wrong with her.
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Tag Archives: Illness
For Hillary, Witch Hunts Never End
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Arthur Miller, Crucible, Hillary Clinton Comments closed
Crohn’s Disease and the Mariner’s Agony
A student with Crohn’s disease found a kindred soul in Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Crohn's disease, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Suffering Comments closed
Wheezles and Sneezles
Like my literary namesake, I’ve had wheezles and sneezles for the past five days.
Where Are the Toys of Yesteryear?
Where are the toys of yesteryear? Such is the lament of this poem by Scott Bates.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ballad of the Games of Yesteryear", Christmas, Memory, Scott Bates Comments closed
God Does Not Leave Us Comfortless
As my father struggles to retain his memory, I think of Jonathan Swift.
My Father in the Hospital
A Mary Oliver poems captures my fears about my father, currently hospitalized.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "University Hospital Boston", father-son, Mary Oliver Comments closed
A Bulimic Sees Herself in Milton’s Satan
One of my students who suffers from bulimia finds her condition mirrored in Satan’s rebellion against God.
When You’re Sick, Call the Musketeers
I seldom get sick but, when I do, I become a wimp. Generally my illnesses take the form of stabbing sinus pain, and I retreat into a cocoon of misery and imagine myself about to die. As is appropriate for my melodramatic self pity, my mind invariably fixates upon a literary scene composed during France’s […]
Swollen Hemingways? See a Doctorow
Terence Winch As we move into the flu season, here’s a fun poem that can speak to our anxieties about the H1N1 virus. It imagines a whole host of literary stalwarts involved in the illness. The poem is by the Irish American poet Terence Winch. Thanks to my father Scott Bates, himself a wonderful writer […]