Oswald Probably Did It
It took 9/11 to show me the real damage conspiracy theories can do. Since then, the gleeful and gullible ability … Continue Reading Oswald Probably Did It
Neanderthal Compassion, Neanderthal Burials
from the book Becoming Human: Innovation in Prehistoric Material and Spiritual Culture: Caring for severely disabled members of the community … Continue Reading Neanderthal Compassion, Neanderthal Burials
Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
From the Japanese Shin Buddhist Kiyozawa Manshi’s “My Faith,” written five days before his death, in 1903: [My] study … Continue Reading Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
20th Century Poetry #1: Thomas Hardy
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #1: Thomas Hardy
Did Neanderthals Have Language?
from Richard Klein and Blake Edgar’s The Dawn of Human Culture: The Neanderthals are fascinating because they were so … Continue Reading Did Neanderthals Have Language?
Eleanor Roosevelt Finds Herself
From Geoffrey Ward’s biography of the Roosevelts comes this moving account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Dickensian childhood, complete with neglectful mother … Continue Reading Eleanor Roosevelt Finds Herself
The Great Myths #51: Enkidu in the Underworld (Mesopotamian)
Read the other Great Myths Here Just before his death, Gilgamesh’s friend Enkidu dreams of the Underworld. While what remains … Continue Reading The Great Myths #51: Enkidu in the Underworld (Mesopotamian)
The Invention of Harmony
from two essays on the origins of the aesthetic impulse in Becoming Human: Innovation in Prehistoric Material and Spiritual Culture: … Continue Reading The Invention of Harmony
Advice to a Young Poet, from Ezra Pound
The late poet and translator W. S. Merwin, who died only last month at ninety-one, has left us a remarkable … Continue Reading Advice to a Young Poet, from Ezra Pound
(Brain) Size Matters
from Richard Klein’s The Dawn of Human Culture: More research is required to demonstrate that the brain enlarged abruptly … Continue Reading (Brain) Size Matters
What Scientology Tells Us About How Religions Begin
Lawrence Wright’s recent book on the history of Scientology is an immensely important document for studying how religions begin. While … Continue Reading What Scientology Tells Us About How Religions Begin
Poems from Columbine: “The Mother”
The Mother at the Salon She was at the salon hours after another mother sat in the same seat: a … Continue Reading Poems from Columbine: “The Mother”
Poems from Columbine: “The Two of Them”
The Two of Them They grew up with Waco, weird religion rolled over by tanks and set on fire; they … Continue Reading Poems from Columbine: “The Two of Them”
Poems from Columbine: “Infatuation”
Infatuation She’d be nearing middle age by now, the girl all over Dylan’s journal whose name the books all black … Continue Reading Poems from Columbine: “Infatuation”
Notre Dame & the Liberation of Paris in 1944
A moment from Matthew Cobb’s Eleven Days in August, on the liberation of Paris in 1944: [the voice of … Continue Reading Notre Dame & the Liberation of Paris in 1944
“One day the Gestapo hanged a child”: God on Trial at Auschwitz
The oldest book about religion on my shelves is Karen Armstrong’s A History of God. The note inside still says … Continue Reading “One day the Gestapo hanged a child”: God on Trial at Auschwitz
Understanding Religion
I’d been interested in religion and mythology long before 2004, when I first read this opening page of Mircea Eliade’s … Continue Reading Understanding Religion
The Great Myths #50: Aeneas in the Underworld (Roman)
Read the other Great Myths Here In an immensely moving scene, after traveling to the underworld, Aeneas encounters his deceased … Continue Reading The Great Myths #50: Aeneas in the Underworld (Roman)
Hart Crane, High & Low
Here is one the my favorite moments from a writer’s life, followed by one of the saddest. Only seven months … Continue Reading Hart Crane, High & Low
If you only read one page from “Moby-Dick”…
…it might as well be this passage from late in the book, when Ahab and Starbuck almost give up their … Continue Reading If you only read one page from “Moby-Dick”…
Joyce’s Dirty Letters
When James Joyce returned to Ireland in the closing months of 1909, leaving his wife Nora Barnacle in Trieste, it … Continue Reading Joyce’s Dirty Letters
Michelangelo & Leonardo da Vinci
From Walter Isaacson’s recent biography of da Vinci, here is about as concise and colorful a summary of how true … Continue Reading Michelangelo & Leonardo da Vinci
Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
“Out, Out – ” The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks … Continue Reading Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
Wordsworth & Eternity at St. Paul’s
St. Paul’s Pressed with conflicting thoughts of love and fear I parted from thee, Friend! and took my way Through … Continue Reading Wordsworth & Eternity at St. Paul’s
Yeats Discovers Poetry
Here’s W. B. Yeats recalling his earliest experiences of poetry: ….This may have come from the stable-boy, for he was … Continue Reading Yeats Discovers Poetry
Yeats Comes to the Occult
Here is W. B. Yeats, remembering some of his early experiences with the occult and supernatural. All taken from his … Continue Reading Yeats Comes to the Occult
Joyce & Proust Meet
From that greatest of literary biographies, Richard Ellmann’s James Joyce, here is the account of Joyce meeting Marcel Proust, only … Continue Reading Joyce & Proust Meet
