For years my Intro to Lit class has had a nature theme.
Tag Archives: Leslie Marmon Silko
Homer’s Warning about Revenge Killings
What will it take to bring peace between police and black communities? Homer has a vision of such a truce at the end of “The Odyssey” but it may not be realistic.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "the meeting after the savior gone 4/4/68", Alton Sterling, Beowulf, Black Lives Matter, Ceremony, Dallas police killings, Grendel's mother, Homer, Lucille Clifton, Odyssey, Philando Castille, race war Comments closed
Fencing People Out & Spiritual Desolation
In her novel “Ceremony,” Leslie Marmon Silko has a vision of spiritual desolation caused when we build fences to keep other people out.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ceremony, Donald Trump, federal land, fences, Mexican wall Comments closed
Beauty Amidst the Refugee Heartbreak
Adam Zagajewski’s beautiful poem “Try to Praise the Mutilated World” is particularly relevant at the moment with the tragedy of the Syrian refugees.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Try to Praise the Mutilated World", Adam Zagajewski, Beauty, Ceremony, Syrian refugees Comments closed
This Time Grendel Chose Umpqua
Every time there is another mass killing, this time at Umpqua Community College, I turn to “Beowulf.” Few works understand such violence as well as this medieval Anglo-Saxon epic.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Ceremony, Charles Harper Mercer, gun control, mass shootings, NRA, serial killers, Umpqua College shooting Comments closed
Milton’s Satan Invades Charleston
Once again, light has attracted darkness in America with the Charleston church killings. John Milton describes how this dynamic works in “Paradise Lost” and Leslie Marmon Silko does so as well in “Ceremony.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ceremony, Charleston killings, domestic terrorism, Dylann Storm Roof, Emanuel AME Church, John Milton, mass killings, Paradise Lost, racism, white supremacy Comments closed
Black Friday: Don’t Just Shop
Black Friday’s shopping frenzy can prompt us to forget the spiritual origins of gift-giving. Leslie Marmon Silko helps us see beyond the glitter.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Black Friday, Ceremony, consumerism, holiday shopping, materialism, spiritual desolation Comments closed
