An ordinary man discovers a terrible secret: he is living in a nightmare. Yossarian, the war pilot protagonist from Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22, finds himself … Read More ›
We talk too much and so often too loudly without listening. I blame social media and Bravo TV for part of this, along with our …
Charlotte Brontë’s second novel, Shirley, has not had the lasting fame of her first, yet at the time of its publishing and for years to … Read More ›
Half-British, half-French, all-around traveler, scholar, and satirist Hilaire Belloc published Path to Rome in 1902. It chronicles his pilgrimage from France, over the Alps, and … Read More ›
Continuing from our previous session. The world is complex. To say it is irreducibly complex is no exaggeration; every aspect of nature speaks to overarching … Read More ›
Many commonly celebrate optimistic innovation as a source of historical progress. In this narrative, tradition hinders inevitable enlightenment. Such a view can distort our own … Read More ›
Evil. It’s everywhere in popular culture. Ours is the land of movie and TV heroes and superheroes, after all. As much as the entertainment press … Read More ›
I welcome this opportunity to introduce the poetry of Seamus Heaney to those of you not already familiar with it and to say something about … Read More ›
Call to mind, if you will, the halcyon days at the good old university, drinking port and singing along to the Tom Lehrer songs, “Bright … Read More ›