Otto Dix, Trench Warfare (1932) I have gained some new insights into The Lord of the Rings since my son Toby wrote an essay about it for the University of Pittsburgh’s graduate English program. Toby informs me that there are a number of debates around the book, especially whether it should be considered great literature. The […]
Continuing the Lord of the Rings discussion, here’s an interesting insight passed on to me by my friend Rachel Kranz about my last entry. I was interpreting my adolescent fondness for Gimli the dwarf as an indication that I felt myself a dwarf, hunkered down and plodding. Rachel says that she was stunned by this self-description […]
After a year’s sabbatical, I am resuming my duties, one of which includes being the advisor of the Tolkien Society. The group gathers regularly to hear talks, forge chain armor, attend masked balls (not that there are any masked balls in Lord of the Rings), and engage in other Medieval-related activities. I’ll mark the occasion […]
At present I am one of those liberals in a high state of anxiety about the prospects of Obama’s attempts to bring us universal health care. I find myself careening through the highs of hope and the lows of fear. I watch the political proceedings minutely, then turn away discouraged, then read some columnist […]
