Lucille Clifton’s Lucifer poems are more pentecostal than diabolic.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Tag Archives: Lucille Clifton
Light Breaks Where No Light Was Before
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "oh where have you fallen to", orthodoxy, Pentecost Comments closed
Sending Students Out into the World
On Saturday at our commencement ceremony, I read C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Ithaka.” It was a great selection for a number of reasons.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "blessing the boats", "Ithaka", C.P. Cavafy, commencement, graduation Comments closed
Inspired by MLK and Lucille Clifton
To honor Martin Luther King, I share a hard-hitting but hopeful Lucille Clifton essay by a first-year African-American student who is fulfilling his dream.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "i am accused of tending to the past", "meeting after the savior gone", "note to myself", "reply", Alyssa Hawkins, Martin Luther King, racism Comments closed
Trouble Recovering My French
Lines from Lucille Clifton’s “i am accused of tending to the past,” wrenched out of context, describe by experience with French at the moment
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "i am accused of tending to the past", French, language translation Comments closed
we have always loved each other
Ushering in Black History Month with a lovely Lucille Clifton poem about the need to keep believing in oneself.
A Herculean Task: Purging Old Files
I’ve spent the last couple of days going through my father’s files (and throwing most of them away). I feel like Heracles cleaning out the Augean stables, as described by Seamus Heaney.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "at last we killed the roaches", Augean stables, Herzog, Saul Bellow, Scott Bates, Seamus Heaney Comments closed
Black Women as Saviors? Clifton Objects
Some are sanctifying black women voters for saving America from itself after Democratic victories in Virginia and Alabama. Lucille Clifton points out that sanctification isn’t much better than demonization.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "note to self", Alabama senate race, black women Comments closed