John Lewis’s mentor James Lawson read a Czeslaw Milosz poem at Lewis’s funeral, showing how deeply he understood social activism.
Tag Archives: William Ernest Henley
To Memorialize, Turn to Poetry
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "I Dream a World", "Invictus", "Meaning", Czeslaw Milosz, funerals, Hamlet, James Lawson, John Lewis, Langston Hughes, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare Comments closed
On John Lewis’s Love of “Invictus”
The late John Lewis’s favorite poem was apparently “Invictus,” a problematic lyric but one can see how Lewis used it in the cause of social justice.
“Invictus,” a Flawed Poem Easily Abused
Thursday In two recent guest posts (here and here), Radnor High School English teacher Carl Rosin describes his students wrestling with two well-known poems that were cited by the Christchurch mass murderer in his justification. One issue is how much leeway a reader has in interpreting a poem. In his students’ responses, Carl mentions some […]
Killer Claimed to Be Captain of His Soul
Wednesday Last week Radnor High School English teacher Carl Rosin reported on his students grappling with the use of Dylan Thomas by the Christchurch killer. The man also cited William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus, the subject of today’s essay. In addition to his use of another famous poem, what does it mean that this same poem […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Christchurch massacre, Nelson Mandela Comments closed
A Poem for Heroes and Mass Murderers
Since the World Cup is underway in South Africa, I watched Clint Eastwood’s Invictus last week, about the 1995 World Cup Rugby Tournament held in South Africa. Based on a true story, the film notes that, while in prison, Nelson Mandela, like many black South Africans, would root against the South African rugby team, beloved […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Invictus", Alfred Lord Tennyson, Apartheid, Clint Eastwood, Faisal Shahzad, John Milton, Nelson Mandela, Paradise Lost, politics, Sports, Timothy McVeigh, Ulysses Comments closed
