Poem: Spring, by Mary Oliver

Poem: Spring, by Mary Oliver

A poem by Mary Oliver Spring And here is the serpent again, dragging himself out from his nest of darkness, his cave under the dark rocks, his winter-death. He slides over the pine needles. He loops around the branches of rising grass, looking for the sun. Well who...
On Romance

On Romance

Romance gets criticized for being repetitive – as if repetition is not the way we nourish our bodies and souls. Meals are repetitive: You have to keep making them and eating them and then making and eating them again. Song lyrics repeat every time a chorus comes...
Poem & Eulogy: Charles Simic

Poem & Eulogy: Charles Simic

Today, Charles Simic’s death was announced. Here’s a wonderful memory of Simic by an old friend, Damon Krukowski. I share this with you now as a eulogy for a poet I admired and enjoyed deeply. Rest in peace, and poetry, Charles.   Charon’s...
Hamlet as a Christmas Play

Hamlet as a Christmas Play

Turns out, that Shakespeare may have taken Advent Season into account when deciding not only where his play would be set, but precisely when. Scholar Steve Roth has written a paper outlining the astronomical history of November 1601, and the holiday season for...