John Lewis’s mentor James Lawson read a Czeslaw Milosz poem at Lewis’s funeral, showing how deeply he understood social activism.
Tag Archives: "Invictus"
To Memorialize, Turn to Poetry
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "I Dream a World", "Invictus", "Meaning", Czeslaw Milosz, funerals, Hamlet, James Lawson, John Lewis, Langston Hughes, Romeo and Juliet, William Ernest Henley, William Shakespeare Comments closed
On John Lewis’s Love of “Invictus”
The late John Lewis’s favorite poem was apparently “Invictus,” a problematic lyric but one can see how Lewis used it in the cause of social justice.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis, William Ernest Henley Comments closed
“Invictus,” a Flawed Poem Easily Abused
Thursday In two recent guest posts (here and here), Radnor High School English teacher Carl Rosin describes his students wrestling with two well-known poems that were cited by the Christchurch mass murderer in his justification. One issue is how much leeway a reader has in interpreting a poem. In his students’ responses, Carl mentions some […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Christchurch massacre, Soul, William Ernest Henley Comments closed
Killer Claimed to Be Captain of His Soul
Wednesday Last week Radnor High School English teacher Carl Rosin reported on his students grappling with the use of Dylan Thomas by the Christchurch killer. The man also cited William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus, the subject of today’s essay. In addition to his use of another famous poem, what does it mean that this same poem […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Christchurch massacre, Nelson Mandela, William Ernest Henley Comments closed
A Poem for Heroes and Mass Murderers
Since the World Cup is underway in South Africa, I watched Clint Eastwood’s Invictus last week, about the 1995 World Cup Rugby Tournament held in South Africa. Based on a true story, the film notes that, while in prison, Nelson Mandela, like many black South Africans, would root against the South African rugby team, beloved […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Alfred Lord Tennyson, Apartheid, Clint Eastwood, Faisal Shahzad, John Milton, Nelson Mandela, Paradise Lost, politics, Sports, Timothy McVeigh, Ulysses, William Ernest Henley Comments closed
Coach James Caldwell, English Major
Colts Coach James Caldwell It appears that football will continue to occupy this website until the actual playing of the Super Bowl ends our annual week of collective hysteria and allows us to move on to other subjects. (Of course, as a Colts fan I am more hysterical this year than others.) Today I’m going […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Authenticity, Death and the Compass, Ernest Henley, Football, Indianapolis Colts, James Caldwell, Jorge Luis Borges, Sports Comments closed
