Literature

Don’t Skip the Boring Parts 2
- Literature, Featured, MomThink
- October 3, 2024
When I taught literature, I had to frequently remind my students not to skip the “boring parts” of the books—things like long paragraphs describing scenery in Dickens’ Oliver Twist or the long list of ships that appears near the beginning of The Iliad. I understand the temptation. When I was their age, I frequently skimmed
READ MORE
Purposeless Masculinity in Beryl Bainbridge’s ‘The Birthday Boys’1
- Featured, History, Literature
- October 2, 2024
In the face of certain death, does being civilized matter? All the narrators of Beryl Bainbridge’s 1991 historical novel The Birthday Boys die. And still, knowing their deaths loom, they carry on with birthdays, religious practices, and virtues like loyalty and courage. Heavily based on real life diaries and letters, this novel is a hybrid
READ MORE
What Can the Men From ‘The Lord of The Rings’ Books Teach Us Today?3
- Culture, Entertainment, Featured, Literature
- October 1, 2024
In sorrow, we must go, but not in despair. Behold! We are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Near the close of The Return of the King, Aragorn proclaims these words of farewell, seeking to comfort his friends as they depart to their homes
READ MORE

The Ten Points of Tolkien’s Politics 4
- Politics, Literature
- September 18, 2024
As a person who has read and written about J.R.R. Tolkien for decades, I am often asked about his political views. In a sense, this is a funny question, as Tolkien really despised most politics. In fact, he really thought of himself as very anti-political. His few statements on the matter reveal just how unpolitical
READ MORE
Democracy’s Animal Farm: An Allegory in George Orwell’s Fairy Tale 0
- Politics, Culture, Literature
- September 16, 2024
Every system, particularly political and social systems, are based off of rules. The rules may be written or unwritten, but nonetheless, the rules exist and conforming to them — at least appearing to conform to them — is often an important aspect of life. Since we are often told of late that our democracy is
READ MORE
Building for the Future: Wendell Berry’s Poem ‘A Vision’3
- Culture, Featured, Literature
- September 13, 2024
Often, we want quick fixes. We live in the tyranny of the present moment, and it’s hard for us to take a long-term view of history and our own moment within it. Most things take time—especially good things, like restorations and healing and growth. But we become impatient. We want results now. We lose hope.
READ MORE