“My Uncle’s Wound,” by Ted Hughes
“My Uncle’s Wound,” by Ted Hughes Download audio Not much remains of my uncle’s Normandy. The stones, but he’d signed … Continue Reading “My Uncle’s Wound,” by Ted Hughes
An Introduction to Fintan of Clonenagh (Irish)
FINTAN OF CLONENAGH (d. 603), abbot. Born in Leinster and educated by St. Colum of Terryglass, he founded Clonenagh which … Continue Reading An Introduction to Fintan of Clonenagh (Irish)
First Person: All-Night Diner (1940)
An employee at an all-night diner in Vermont, 1940; part of the WPA Federal Writers’ Project: “On a job like … Continue Reading First Person: All-Night Diner (1940)
Karl Shapiro, Two War Poems (“Troop Train,” “Homecoming”)
Troop Train It stops the town we come through. Workers raise Their oily arms in good salute and grin. Kids … Continue Reading Karl Shapiro, Two War Poems (“Troop Train,” “Homecoming”)
Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf”
From the end of Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, here is an immense mourning for a person and a civilization, … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf”
Week of the Bomb: Friday
What to make of any of these voices? This week’s posts—the words not of those protesting the bomb after, but … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Friday
Week of the Bomb: Thursday
Finally, voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When The New Yorker dedicated its entire August 31, 1946 issue to John Hersey’s … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Thursday
Week of the Bomb: Wednesday
Many of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project had families in Europe, or were refugees from Europe themselves, … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Wednesday
Week of the Bomb: Tuesday
Impossible decisions remain impossible, even after they’ve been made. Following on yesterday’s post, here are the voices of those scientists … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Tuesday
Week of the Bomb: Monday
With the anniversary of the Trinity Test just passed, and the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this week, I realize the … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Monday
Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
Washington August 10 1863 Mr and Mrs Haskell, Dear friends, I thought it would be soothing to you to have … Continue Reading Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
Aldous Huxley Saves the Day
from Thomas Cahill’s Heretics and Heroes: In a collection of travel essays published in 1925, Aldous Huxley had called Piero … Continue Reading Aldous Huxley Saves the Day
20th Century Poetry #8: Wilfred Owen & the Poetry of World War One
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #8: Wilfred Owen & the Poetry of World War One
20th Century Poetry #5: Edward Thomas
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #5: Edward Thomas
Sleepwalking into World War One
From Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914: Do we really need to make the case … Continue Reading Sleepwalking into World War One
Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
Scroll through this selection of preliminary studies & photos of the canvas as it was worked on & completed. Pretty … Continue Reading Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
