As I wrote last year when the earthquake hit Haiti, all human language, even literature, comes up short when faced with disaster and death. Literature is language by humans about humans, and destruction on this scale seems to laugh narrative and image to scorn. Nevertheless, being human, we try to bring even apocalyptic disasters into a […]
Tag Archives: Thomas Hardy
When Events Defy Human Understanding
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Hap", Bacchae, Bridge over San Luis Rey, death and dying, Euripides, Japanese tsunami, Suffering, Thorn Wilder | Comments closed
Finding Peace for War’s Wandering Souls
Wayne Karlin In honor of Veterans Day, I attended a fascinating talk by novelist Wayne Karlin on his new book Wandering Souls: Journeys with the Dead the Living in Viet Nam (Nation Books, 2009). In addition to being a top-flight writer, Wayne, a neighbor and friend, is a Vietnam vet who regularly journeys to Vietnam […]
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "The Man He Killed", death and dying, Vietnam, Wandering Souls, war, Wayne Karlin | Comments closed
