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I’m disturbed by recent memes and social media posts mocking prayers sent to those dealing with tragedy. Granted, words alone are not enough, and…
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With more than a dozen people on couch and floor – a decimated collection of snacks left alone on the table – it begins: two modern-day gladiators beating…
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I jump from a WWII novel, to the best American short stories, to a biography of a poet, to a novel telling the story of the battle of Jakku.I immerse…
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I have been thinking about “Policy” as of late -- in particular, about the question I hear increasingly asked: “Do we have a policy for that?”More…
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Wallace Stevens begins his poem “Of Modern Poetry” like this:The poem of the mind in the act of findingWhat will suffice.He meditates on the nature of…
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We moved to Rockford in the summer of 2008; I was hired at Rockford University the same time as our then new president, Robert Head. Shortly thereafter,…
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I have discovered the problem with “some people.”And, once I realized it, I couldn’t help but think that it was so obvious all along. So here it is: The…
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James, the brother of Jesus, proclaims in Chapter 1, verse 19 of his Biblical epistle: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to…
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Let’s play connect the dots:Dot one: Every year around this time we are flooded with “top ten” lists.Dot two: As an English professor, I am often asked:…
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I enjoy Facebook – especially the silly stuff: the perfect BLT, the six-year-old’s wisdom shared by a parent, the photo of a photo circa 1979, and the…