With her story “Things,” Le Guin gives us a way of understanding MAGA nihilists–and of seeing alternatives.
Tag Archives: Ulysses
Not Rage Or Tears but Radical Hope
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Albert Camus, Alfred Lord Tennyson, climate change, Fascism, MAGA, Myth of Sisyphus, nihilism, Things, Ursula K Le Guin Comments closed
Stream of Consciousness’ Healing Powers
In “Wonderworks” Fletcher explains the therapeutic effects of stream of consciousness, Virginia Woolf’s especially.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Angus Fletcher, Henry James, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Mrs. Dalloway, stream of consciousness, Virginia Woolf, Wonderworks Comments closed
Looking Forward, Not Back
Seeking to resurrect Troy, Aeneas takes on a challenge also facing America.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Hellas", Alfred Lord Tennyson, declining empires, Donald Trump, Make America Great Again, Percy Bysshe Shelley Comments closed
The Sexual Politics of Circe-Odysseus
Miller’s novel “Circe” engages with a long tradition of Circe and Odysseus depictions, including those of Homer, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Dante, Tennyson, and Atwood.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Circe, Circe Mud Poems, Euripides, Hecuba, Inferno, Madeline Miller, Margaret Atwood, Penelopiad, Philoctetes, Sexual Politics, Sophocles Comments closed
Biden’s Love for James Joyce
Joe Biden’s favorite poet is Seamus Heaney, his favorite fiction writer James Joyce. While he expresses admiration for “Ulysses,” I think he might prefer “Dubliners.”
Mentor: Rare for Sons to Be Like Fathers
Homer explores the difficulty of a young man living up to his famous father. It’s a problem that continues with fathers and sons.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, fathers and sons, Homer, Odyssey Comments closed
Is Old Age Becoming Overrated?
A “New Yorker” article on aging turns to literature to debunk the notion that aging is a good thing.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Vanity of Human Wishes", "Sailing to Byzantium", "Tithonous", Aging, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Aristotle, As You Like It, Ecclesiastes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift, King Lear, Merchant's Tale, old age, Plato, Rasselas, Samuel Johnson, William Butler Yeats, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Fathers & Sons: He Goes His Way, I Mine
Wednesday The talk with my son that I described in Monday’s post reminded me of talks with my own father where I was sure he was wrong. I’ve since concluded that I was not as right as I thought I was and that our disagreements came down to our different life arcs. Our arguments came […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Blaise Pascal, Jean Paul Sartre, Rasselas, Samuel Beckett, Samuel Johnson, Westword Ho! Comments closed
Will Odysseus Shape 2020 Election?
Monday I won’t take credit for this but Washington Post’s Molly Roberts recently penned a very Better-Living-with Beowulf type column where she contrasted two Democratic presidential candidates by examining which version of the Odysseus/Ulysses story they prefer. Her piece gives me an excuse to apply other versions of the story to various 2020 contenders. Roberts […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2020 election, Aeneid, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Beto O'Rourke, Donald Trump, Finnegans Wake, Homer, James Joyce, Joe Biden, Joseph Campbell, Odyssey, Pete Buttigieg, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Virgil Comments closed
