Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde

Bad Bunny’s Trees, Olympic Athletes

Two items: Bad Bunny’s trees compared to the Tolkien’s Ents and an Olympic skier compared to Icarus.

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How Sociopaths Like DJT Escape Justice

Brundage’s magnificent crime novel “All Things Cease to Appear” frustrates our longing for accountability—as does DJT.

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Surprised by the Joy of Reading

In a satiric essay, a fictional writer begins by reading to impress and ends by loving to read.

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Dorian Gray, a Parable for Our Time

A recent Broadway production of “Picture of Dorian Gray” provides insights into our own narcissist-in-chief.

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Playing Whack-a-Mole with Jan. 6

The GOP plays moral whack-a-mole (Kate Atkinson’s metaphor) with Jan. 6. Soon they may claim, like the government in “100 Years of Solitude,” that it never happened.

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Lit Packs a Powerful Punch

My book “Better Living through Lit” this past year was only one of several making the case that literature can be social dynamite.

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When Stories Are Weaponized

In the hands of culture warriors, stories have become weaponized. It’s difficult to figure out how we should fight back.

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Salomé: Material Girl in a Material World

Wilde’s “Salomé” is the story of a material girl trapped in a material world.

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Why Fiction Terrifies People

I announce my forthcoming book and contrast it with a similar book–“Dangerous Fictions”–coming out soon.

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