Le vendredi

I am perfectly well, perhaps the best ever, but so introverted. It is possible that other people have these phases as well, when they are on sabbatical. I am not working on teaching, research or service, I am going through my books and creating a more amenable, and also more up to date work environment … More Le vendredi

Meyer Abrams

I’ve gotten rid of my Meyer Abrams books because they are just too tattered but The Mirror and the Lamp is very important to read if you work on modern poetry. I want to read it again in a clean copy one day, in a good library or a nice café, with the sun shining. … More Meyer Abrams

La fragmentación

Today I wrote 302 words and discovered lacunae in my research — serious ones. Advice to new faculty is that it is never true that reading and writing, in that order, do not come first — no matter how many times they say that in your current context, this is not true. I have too … More La fragmentación

On emotional pain

This is a cheesy article in some ways but it has a list of types of emotional pain that are all results of internalization of mistreatment. Our whole department has these feelings and it is worth considering. We all need to realize that these feelings are imposed. How will I combat it? I will say … More On emotional pain

Longing

It isn’t actually self-doubt or self-hatred, or laziness or lack of commitment or not knowing what one wants, or depression. It is longing. I long to: – live somewhere I feel happy – have an intellectually stimulating life – be safe from torturers, not work with torture – and therefore, be calm enough to really … More Longing