Better Living through Beowulf

Althea Gale, illus. of “The Harlot’s House” Tuesday It was ten years ago yesterday when Hillary Clinton told us that, if DJT were elected, Vladimir Putin would have a puppet in the White House.

Yeats’s Lapus Lazuli carving Monday Last week I reported on surviving Rohinton Mistry’s roller coaster of an epic, A Fine Balance.

Detail from Jean-Léon Gérôme, Moses on Mount Sinai Sunday In today’s Old Testament reading, about Moses on Mount Sinai, God informs him that He is too powerful to appear directly.

John Michael Rysbrack, battle scene from The Iliad How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.

Grendel Thursday Mark Zuckerberg as Grendel?

Wednesday I’ve finished reading Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance and–hoo boy!

Joy Harjo Tuesday I missed Indigenous Peoples’ Day yesterday so here’s a poem to mark the occasion.

Reynolds and Sudeikis in Ted Lasso, Season 4 Monday This is the second post I’ve written on the use of poetry in Ted Lasso, the delicious Apple TV show about an American coaching British soccer.

Nicolas Poussin, Adoration of the Golden Calf Sunday I revisit today a poem I shared a decade ago that puts a positive spin on the golden calf story, one of today’s lectionary readings.

Taylor and Burton in The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Friday Memories of Books That Shook My World I write today to figure out why I was captivated by a Shakespeare play I encountered in seventh grade.

Thursday Sometimes a book lands with seismic impact.

Wednesday – Banned Books Week Fourteen years ago several of my seniors in Theories of the Reader chose to study “book attacks.”

Palma il Giovane, Jesus Heals the Paralytic Tuesday People have long praised the power of literature to foster empathy, and in my book I explore the radical ways that novels expanded the franchise in the 19th century (see footnote).

Monday Here’s a lovely Paul Dunbar poem to welcome in October.

Pauline Baynes, illus. from The Last Battle Sunday Last week I wrote about End Times Fascism, a recent book examining three rightwing groups rooting for world-ending cataclysm.

John Tenniel, illustrates. from Alice in Wonderland Friday Memories of Books That Shook My World When my brothers and I were growing up we had Australian actor Cyril Richard reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland on a set of records.

Thursday Recently I listened to Chris Hayes interview Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor about their book End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World, where they contend that three groups have joined forces in their efforts to end the world as we know…

Indian-Canadian author Rohinton Mistry Wednesday Years ago political commentator David Frum said something that has stuck with me, coming as it did from a former George W.

Mowgli takes on Shere Kahn Tuesday Last week I wrote about how revisiting C.S.

Artist Michael Whelan imagines Fahrenheit 451’s mechanical hound Monday Recently I compared ICE agents to the firemen who destroy books in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

Jacob Jordaens, The Four Evangelists Sunday My friend Robin Collins, a Religious Studies professor at Messiah College, has co-authored a very interesting article arguing that the truth of Christianity is best found, not in eye witness or second hand accou…

Friday Memories of Books That Shook My World My four Georgia grandchildren, all of whom are voracious readers, are enthralled with graphic novels.

Pauline Baynes, illus. from The Horse and His Boy Thursday As my church reading group discusses John Gatta’s Green Worlds of C.S.

Wednesday A passage from a Stephen King novel returns to me from time to time as I think back to when we lost our oldest son 26 years ago.

William Blake, depiction of Orc, the spirit of revolutionary energy Tuesday In observance of America’s 250th anniversary, which lasts all year, I recently read William Blake’s America: A Prophecy, which celebrates the revolutionary energies that the world…

Van Gogh, After the Harvest (after Millet) Monday As we look ahead to autumn, which officially begins tomorrow, I share one of my favorite seasonal poems.

Nicholas Poussin, The Israelites Gathering Manna Sunday Today’s Old Testament reading is the Exodus story of manna in the wilderness.

Gordon Brown, illus. from E.

Eastman Johnson, Boyhood of Lincoln Thursday The Atlantic just alerted me to a thoughtful David Brooks article that I missed in 2025.

Pauline Baynes, illus. from Prince Caspian Wednesday For its September book, our church group has been discussing Green Worlds of C.S.

John Bunyan dreaming Pilgrim’s Progress Tuesday The theme for our church’s Adult Forum this year is “Narratives That Transform” (partly my idea).

Monday “Worse than Kafka” wrote Heather Parton (“Digby”) on a recent deportation atrocity, and the facts of the case certainly bear her out.

Marc Chagall Sunday – Rosa Hashanah I traveled all day yesterday, returning from a funeral in Iowa, so I am reposting an old essay.

Friday – 25th Anniversary of 9-11 I’m currently in Iowa for a funeral so, to commemorate 9-11, I’m reposting a two-year-old essay on W.H.

Thursday Of the non-fiction books that have impacted me the most over the past ten years—there haven’t been many since I normally stick to novels—Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents leads the list.

Gloria Steinem Wednesday Yesterday, using poems by Adrienne Rich, I discussed how Gloria Steinem helped free women from myths that entrapped them in confining identities.

Tuesday Today I honor Gloria Steinem with two Adrienne Rich poems that get at her contributions to American women.

Monday – Labor Day For Labor Day I share a passage from Rachel Kranz’s Leaps of Faith, one of the best labor novels I know.

Pauline Baynes, the Pieta in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Sunday My church reading group has devoted five sessions to John Gatta’s Green Worlds of C.

Friday Memories of Books that Shook My World While I will be devoting a special post next week to the late Gloria Steinem, I examine today a work that helped open me up to feminism’s message.

Wendell Berry, August 5, 1934 – August 31, 2026 Thursday I’m sure I am just one of thousands of Wendell Berry fans whose minds automatically went to “Testament” upon hearing of his death.

Wednesday Although I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, I was never a fan of “the golden age of science fiction.”