Tag Archives: Rudyard Kipling

What Drives You to Go Forth?

By Robin Bates | Published: March 30, 2019

Spiritual Sunday The prodigal son is one of Jesus’s most challenging parables. I once read about a rightwing Christian arguing that Jesus had it all wrong since the story’s outcome violated her views about who deserves to be helped, whether by God or the government. Writers have had their own interesting takes. Andre Gide, tormented […]

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Poems for Resisting Trump

By Robin Bates | Published: December 28, 2017

New York columnist Roger Cohen suggests two poems for resisting Trumpism: “if” and “Harlem.”

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The Soldier Knew Someone Had Blundered

By Robin Bates | Published: February 28, 2017

Donald Trump is refusing to take responsibility for the failed Yemen raid where a Navy Seal was killed, along with 30 civilians. The raid brings to mind the “Charge of the Light Brigade,” although more appropriate might be the Rudyard Kipling sequel, where the poet blasted England for failing to take care of the survivors.

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Kipling Perfectly Describes Brexiteers

By Robin Bates | Published: June 27, 2016

A “Guardian” article applies Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Dead Statesman” to those irresponsible politicians who brought about Brexit. The poem applies equally well to Donald Trump.

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How Kipling’s Kaa Would Fight ISIS

By Robin Bates | Published: March 24, 2016

ISIS resembles the Monkey People in Kipling’s “Jungle Book” in the way it craves attention. It is defeated by Kaa, but the authoritarian python brings his own set of problems, a fascist reaction to anarchy.

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Kobe: The Lone Wolf Going Down

By Robin Bates | Published: January 21, 2015

Kobe is both like and unlike Akela, the Lone Wolf in “The Jungle Books.”

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Peterson and Literary Child Thrashings

By Robin Bates | Published: September 20, 2014

Adrian Peterson’s mistreatment of his four-year-old son has echoes of the caning described by Rudyard Kipling.

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Using Kipling to Voice Despair

By Robin Bates | Published: September 16, 2014

Roger Cohen of the New York Times turns to a Kipling poem to express his despair about the world.

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A Kipling Response to the V.A. Scandal

By Robin Bates | Published: June 2, 2014

Kipling predicted the V.A. scandal in his 1892 poem “Tommy.”

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