A is for army, or arrest. B is for a name gained in Viet Nam, and for Buddhism learned there. C is for childhood. D is for dharma, or daughter. E is for enlist. H is for habit, heroin, and ‘hood. L is for life. S is for sentence, and shooting. T is for thirty … More V is for Victory
My banner picture was taken in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, the most touristy town in El Quiché, but I was on my way to Nebaj, from whence I went walking in the Ixil Triangle. I did not get as far as Uspantán, true Rigoberta Menchú territory, but I did find Chajul, where her brother was burned (or … More Caminos para cantar
Having just written a long response to a question on a post about writing and academia, it occurs to me that I might mention some of my tales of culture shock upon entering the professoriate. I always thought that by being an academic in the humanities, and in humanities fields oriented towards cultures other than … More Heart of Amerika
I stopped reading Dissent when it came out in favor of the Iraq war, but Momo links to an interesting essay from it by Ellen Willis, on, let us say for short, the Revolution which is still to come. The validity of utopianism is the topic here. I am perusing Walter Benjamin’s On the Concept … More In Utopia
Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio, et excrucior. These are the things I dislike about being a professor: 1. having to live in prim towns in the heart of Amerika; 2. the lack of actual intellectual and creative life; 3. careerism; 4. passive agression, which passes for ‘professionalism’ but … More Catullus 85
Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison closed The Liberator in 1865, on the theory that its work was done. Colonial powers carved up of Africa in the name of suppressing the slave trade. We can read all about this and more in New World Order, Robin Blackburn’s review of some new books on slavery. It is interesting … More William Lloyd Garrison
I am still looking for a really good English translation, perhaps Dryden’s, of Horace’s second ode from Book III of the Odes. I seek this, of course, as background to Wilfred Owen’s realistic war poem. I have found this translation, which is adequate, though dull, this one, which I like better, and this one, which … More Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Veteran’s Day celebrates the November 11 Armistice, which ended World War I. Wilfred Owen was killed in battle a week before the Armistice, when he was 25. He had by then already written this, referring to the poem by Horace. DULCE ET DECORUM EST Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, … More Wilfred Owen
Today’s recommended post is Momo’s, on the background of Robert Gates. In honor of places devastated by people still connected with the U.S. government, and by several former U.S. governments as well, we need some poems. Salomón de la Selva was from León, Nicaragua, where I went last year. He wrote these poems in English, … More Tropical Town
The next thing which should be done is, impeach Bush and try him for war crimes. Do not feel sorry for him: he has foreseen this. Remember, he has bought a large ranch in Paraguay, and the Paraguayan government has extended immunity to U.S. military accused of war crimes. The ranch is next to a … More Alguien se va al Chaco
coldhearted scientist وداد 