Friends -- this is not my usual kind of post, but these are some thoughts I'd like to share nonetheless. This past Friday night, I watched E. Jean Carroll tell Lawrence O’Donnell her story of how Donald Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman. That story – like the story of Christine … Continue reading Too real: Bergdorf’s, New York, East Coast private schools and the sexual threat from E. Jean Carroll to Christine Blasey Ford (it really is as bad as it sounds)
Category: education
2nd visit to bad Germany, part 1
Friends -- I’ve been writing about the German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany, aka "bad" Germany) in the light of discussions about communism, Russians, the cold war, and most recently fascism and the connections to all of these things in this country. Here’s the first installment of my 2nd trip. By 1985, I had received … Continue reading 2nd visit to bad Germany, part 1
A tale of two countries (part 1)
Friends – I generally use this blog to talk about the unreal, but today I want to talk about something real. I want to talk about a country that used to exist. It’s gone now. It’s been gone for almost 30 years. And most of us don’t remember its existence. That’s how successfully it has … Continue reading A tale of two countries (part 1)
TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER update: Sonnet in Honor of Kamala Harris joins the roster!
Friends -- we have a new sonnet in honor of Kamala Harris created by K. Andrew Turner. We'll add sonnets to the roster as we receive them. the entire group can be viewed here:
Reading the 18th Century, March 12, 2017. Rousseau redux: The Discourse on Inequality continued with some cool info on people who read him
Hi everyone -- welcome back as we take a second look at this seminal piece of writing by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Last time, I talked about Rousseau's theory of humans in the state of nature. Now we'll take a quick look at some of his other ideas. Part 2 of the Discourse starts off … Continue reading Reading the 18th Century, March 12, 2017. Rousseau redux: The Discourse on Inequality continued with some cool info on people who read him
Reading the Enlightenment: Nathan the Wise and imagining religious interconnectedness
Friends – Last week I shared some thoughts about Jonathan Swift’s autobiographical poem and the connection of some its ideas to the attitudes expressed by the Founding Fathers and indeed to one of the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence. This week, I want to share some insights about a play written in 1779, … Continue reading Reading the Enlightenment: Nathan the Wise and imagining religious interconnectedness
Self-deprecation and the gesture towards improvement: Why I love Jonathan Swift’s weird poem about his own death
I have no title to aspire Yet when you sink I seem the higher (Jonathan Swift, “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift” transcribed from memory). Friends – The above is a quote from my favorite 18th Century poem “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift,” written by Jonathan Swift himself and published in 1739. … Continue reading Self-deprecation and the gesture towards improvement: Why I love Jonathan Swift’s weird poem about his own death
When satire gets serious about human rights: Encountering CANDIDE
As I mentioned in my last blog post, my friend Kathy and I are struggling through a very boring book for French class at a fancy private school in 1969... Kathy has news for me about this book. “It’s got cutting off asses in it,” Kathy whispers to me at the library. “What?” I reply … Continue reading When satire gets serious about human rights: Encountering CANDIDE
me and the enlightenment 1 – 11/27/16
Friends of the unreal -- Well, here we are. The unreal is upon us, and has become fact. Barring a miracle, a surprising recount, an indictment, or an unforseen force majeure, Donald Trump ascends to the presidency. Alot is being said and has been said about the Founding Fathers, our "national character," "who we are," … Continue reading me and the enlightenment 1 – 11/27/16
re-pairing, reparationing — Natasha Marin and making the questions real
Friends, This has been an intense summer. So much of the news in the United States today feels -- well -- unreal. I've been at a loss to write about it. So, I've been watching tv and wondering what my white, WASP Republican family would say about Donald Trump if they were still alive. They … Continue reading re-pairing, reparationing — Natasha Marin and making the questions real
Stephanie Barbé Hammer Writing (Un) Real 