O LORD, how long shall I cry for … [Read more...] about How Long?
Great Books
How to Read Henry James
A few years back I decided I needed to understand Henry James. I’d read a few of his books and stories, and was always underwhelmed. Very underwhelmed. Yet, he is constantly mentioned as one the Great American Writers. The Library of America alone has a zillion Henry James volumes. I figured that maybe I was missing something. I had two colleagues in the English Department who love James, so I decided to run an experiment. I wrote them both, told them I was trying to learn to appreciate … [Read more...] about How to Read Henry James
The Weight of this Sad Time
Can it get any worse?How long has it been since you asked that question? An hour, a day, a week, a year? Personal tragedy. Family tragedy. Friend tragedy. National tragedy. International tragedy. They pile up at times and you ask if it could possibly get any worse. The Answer: Yes. Yes, it can. Cf. King Lear. Things also just keep getting worse and worse in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:Had I your tongues and eyes I’ld use them soThat heaven’s … [Read more...] about The Weight of this Sad Time
River of Life
“All there is to thinking,” he said, “is seeing something noticeable which makes you see something you weren’t noticing which makes you see something that isn’t even visible.” A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean A rough sketch of this story is that it is about a father and his two sons who really like to go fly fishing. I mean they really, really, really like to go fly fishing. Lots of fly fishing. Lots and lots of descriptions of fly fishing. Lots of details about how to go fly … [Read more...] about River of Life
Is It OK to Laugh?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is unquestionably a Masterpiece.One measure of how great it is: Neil Gaiman wrote an issue of Sandman that took the play, morphed it into something that worked seamlessly into the world of Dream, and then that issue of a comic book won the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story of the year. (After this happened, the organization that gives out the award immediately changed the rules of the award to prohibit comic books from ever winning again. It is apparently … [Read more...] about Is It OK to Laugh?
Fighting Vainly the Old Ennui
Back when I was enrolled in the obligatory American literature class in high school, we read Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. It bored me to tears. I had no idea why I was reading a whole bunch of boring conversations between boring people. Now, it is only fair to note that when I was in high school, my literary tastes were unrefined. Well, that is putting it mildly; I had no taste. So, my high school reaction to books is generally not even remotely accurate. But, in this case, I was … [Read more...] about Fighting Vainly the Old Ennui