Friday I found utterly dispiriting this past week’s Democratic debates in which candidates lasered in on tiny differences while a fire rages all around us. I haven’t wanted to relax my vigilance regarding Donald Trump since autocrats win when we become so worn down that we stop paying attention. Nevertheless, these two wretched debates made […]
Tag Archives: John Keats
Ensnar’d with Flow’rs I Fall on Grass
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "August", "Ode to Autumn", "Garden", Andrew Marvell, Birches, English gardens, Robert Frost, summer, To His Coy Mistress Comments closed
A Keats Poem for Class Reunions
Wednesday This past weekend I attended my 50th high school anniversary and relived life at Sewanee Military Academy from 1965-69. Some of my former classmates talked of these having been the happiest years of their lives, which brought to mind a poem I learned at SMA while practicing for the regional poetry competition. In some […]
Does Lit Crit Make Lit Less Fun?
Friday My Ljubljana colleague Jason Blake alerted me to a Chronicle of Higher Education article that wrestles with the question of whether studying literature should be fun. It’s a fairly confused piece, with Baruch College’s Timothy Aubry conflating a number of issues better treated separately. Nevertheless, it’s worth a response because Aubry addresses questions that non-academics […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Feminism, formalism, ideology, Marxism, New Criticism Comments closed
Fall, Season for Beautiful Depression
Those suffering from depression will find a kindred spirit in this gorgeous St. Vincent Millay poem about autumn.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Blue Heron", "To Autumn", Autumn, bi-polar illness, Depression, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Oliver, Seasons Comments closed
The New Moon, A Prayer Opening to Faith
In a powerful Advent poem, David Whyte compares waning faith with the waning moon. The poem reminds me of poems by John Keats and Lucille Clifton.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Bright Star", "man who killed the bear", Advent, David Whyte, Faith, Lucille Clifton Comments closed
Not Your Father’s Apple Cider
A visit to my cousins’ hard apple cider processing plant showed me that making the beverage has changed markedly since the days of John Keats and Robert Frost.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ode to Autumn", After Apple-Picking, apples, farming, hard apple cider, Robert Frost Comments closed
