“The Odyssey” looked different to a literature teacher after he taught it to a class of Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian refugees. Homer’s poem challenges us to open our own hearts to those fleeing persecution and war.
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Tag Archives: Odyssey
Fox, Like Odysseus, Tries to Gouge Trump
A Salon columnist compares Trump to the Cyclops in “The Odyssey.” He has a point.
The Complex Inner Life of Teachers
Lily King’s “The English Teacher” is filled with literary lllusions, most of them thematically important.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Voice", Annabelle Lee, Beowulf, Edgar Allen Poe, Homer, Huckleberry Finn, Love Song of J. Alfred Pruforck, Mark Twain, Othello, Rose for Emily, T. S. Eliot, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, William Shakespeare Comments closed
In Praise of the Liberal Arts
NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof recently sang the praises of the liberal arts and talked about the vital importance of literature.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ernest Hemingway, Homer, Iliad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Khaled Hosseini, Liberal arts education, Old Man and the Sea, Toni Morrison Comments closed
Loud Sneezes, a Sign from the Gods
My loud sneezes, according to Homer, as a sign from the gods.
The Return of King James
Lebron’s return to Cleveland is like Odysseus’ return to Ithaka.
Maybe the Gulfs Will Wash Us Down
Peyton Manning was not Homer’s Odysseus but Tennyson’s Ulysses.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Football, Homer, NFL, Peyton Manning, Roger Federer, Sports, Ulysses Comments closed
Competing Heroic Narratives in Super Bowl
One Super Bowl narrative: Manning as the return of the king. Another narrative: Manning as Laius blocking the way of the next generation. Plus: Belichick-Welker in Oedipal drama.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bill Belichick, Denver Broncos, Homer, Oedipus, Peyton Manning, Seattle Seahawks, Sophocles, Super Bowl, Wes Welker Comments closed
Zeus Predicts that Broncos Will Win
A passage in the Odyssey forecasts that Peyton Manning will win the Super Bowl.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Denver Broncos, Football, Homer, NFL, Peyton Manning, Seattle Seahawks, Sports Comments closed