Author Archive

“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball” –Jacques Barzun Right off the bat, Jacques Barzun’s pitch about baseball strikes us today as coming out of left field. First asserted in the 1950s, his famous assessment of baseball’s place in American culture then seemed to cover all the bases and... »

What is it with Democratic inaugurations and poetry? Poetry and politics do not mix. Never have. One or the other never fully measures up to the task of the historic moment. Alexander the Great lamented that he did not have a Homer to record his epic deeds, while George Washington thought he had his... »

At this very time of year, on a dreary night, and during a lightning storm, Victor Frankenstein first gave life to his hideous creation in Mary Shelley’s tragic novel. And so was born both the connection between Halloween and Frankenstein as well as the now familiar arch-villain, the mad scientist. It seems a bit... »

Seven years ago, Sept. 11, 2001, we all remember where we were and with whom and what we were doing. I was rushing off for my 9:25 AM class; it was my first semester as a tenure-track professor. Teaching John Donne in a class (17th Century British lit) otherwise full of obscurities has this... »