Kimmel’s joke about Melania Trump, for which she is attacking him, has precedents in Chaucer, John Gay, and Wilde. Stephens’s poem “The Shell,” meanwhile, captures the travesty of the DoJ vs. Comey.
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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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Conor Ryan, Donald Trump, Ents, Icarus, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings Comments closed
How Sociopaths Like DJT Escape Justice
Brundage’s magnificent crime novel “All Things Cease to Appear” frustrates our longing for accountability—as does DJT.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged accountability, All Things Cease to Appear, crime novel, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Bundage, Heart of Darkness, Importance of Being Earnest, Joseph Conrad, King Lear, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Surprised by the Joy of Reading
In a satiric essay, a fictional writer begins by reading to impress and ends by loving to read.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Don Quixote, Moby Dick, performance reading, Picture of Dorian Gray Comments closed
Dorian Gray, a Parable for Our Time
A recent Broadway production of “Picture of Dorian Gray” provides insights into our own narcissist-in-chief.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Anton Chekhov, Donald Trump, narcissism, Picture of Dorian Gray, Uncle Vanya Comments closed
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, Ben Jonson, Better Living through Literature, book bans, Christopher Marlowe, Dangerous Fictions, Harold Bloom, Hesiod, Homer, Iliad, Lyta Gold, Odyssey, Picture of Dorian Gray, Plato, Toni Morrison, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Salomé: Material Girl in a Material World
Wilde’s “Salomé” is the story of a material girl trapped in a material world.