The Seamus Heaney poem that Biden quotes in a new ad is itself taken from Heaney’s verse translation of Sophocles’s “Philoctetes.” It’s perfect for the current moment.
Tag Archives: Joe Biden
Hope for a Great Sea-Change
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Cure of Troy", 2020 election, Martha Nussbaum, Philoctetes, Seamus Heaney, Sophocles Comments closed
Do Not Let Your Anger Drown You
Many Trump supporters are consumed by anger. Dante shows how they construct their own hells in the process.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Dante, Donald Trump, Election 2020, Election anger, Inferno Comments closed
Biden-Trump Invites Dickens Comparisons
If one thinks of the 2020 election in Dickensian terms, several novels come to mind.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2020 election, Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Donald Trump, Hard Times, Martin Chuzzlewit, Oliver Twist Comments closed
Kamala Harris, a Phenomenal Woman
To understand the power exuded by Kamala Harris, check out these two Maya Angelou poems.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Phenomenal Woman", "Still I Rise", 2020 election, Kamala Harris, Maya Angelou Comments closed
Biden vs. Bernie, Aeneas vs. Turnus
To apply a classic allusion to the Democratic primaries, think of Joe Biden as Aeneas and Bernie Sanders as his foe Turnus. Aeneas wins the battle, Turnus the war.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aeneid, Bernie Sanders, Democratic primaries, Virgil Comments closed
Will Odysseus Shape 2020 Election?
Monday I won’t take credit for this but Washington Post’s Molly Roberts recently penned a very Better-Living-with Beowulf type column where she contrasted two Democratic presidential candidates by examining which version of the Odysseus/Ulysses story they prefer. Her piece gives me an excuse to apply other versions of the story to various 2020 contenders. Roberts […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2020 election, Aeneid, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Beto O'Rourke, Donald Trump, Finnegans Wake, Homer, James Joyce, Joseph Campbell, Odyssey, Pete Buttigieg, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, Virgil Comments closed
Waiting for Biden, Paul Ryan, & Reagan
Some Democrats are waiting for Joe Biden and many Republicans are awaiting the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. Samuel Beckett foresaw in all in “Waiting for Godot.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Democrats, Freedom Caucus, GOP, Paul Ryan, politics, Republicans, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot Comments closed
Joe Biden Debates Bounderby
In last night’s, Joe Biden found himself up against a modern-day version of Dickens’ Bounderby from “Hard Times.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2012 election, Charles Dickens, Hard Times, Paul Ryan, politics Comments closed
