In Greek mythology and literature, Tiresias was a seer or soothsayer. In other words, he was a prophet. How he attained the gift of prophecy, however, is a curious one, and worth exploring, so in this post we’re going to take a look at the myths surrounding the figure of Tiresias, and his role in
Literature
February 16, 2021, 3:09pm This weekend, while agonizing over yet another dismal showing from my favorite Premier League team (you’ll never walk alone . . . but honestly), I heard a rumor about Albert Camus: that once upon a time, the extremely French writer and philosopher played keeper for the Racing Universitaire Algerios (RUA) junior
Six Characters in Search of an Author is one of the most famous plays about theatre, a metatheatrical masterpiece which invites us to think about the relationship between theatre and ‘real’ life. Luigi Pirandello’s most celebrated and widely staged play, Six Characters in Search of an Author is worth exploring more closely; but before we
February 16, 2021, 1:25pm For all the fake news fearmongering of the last four years, we’re still very susceptible to myths presented as fact when they’re deployed with authority. Last week saw the viral Facebook resurgence of a popular tweet from 2018 which claimed that in the event of a fire, all the oxygen is
P&P Live! Jed Rakoff | Why The Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go FreeMonday, February 15th, 6:00pm ESTPolitics and Prose welcomes senior federal judge Jed Rakoff to present his new book, Why the Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go Free and Other Paradoxes of Our Broken Legal System, in conversation with NYU Law
‘Lines Written near Richmond, upon the Thames, at Evening’ is a poem by William Wordsworth (1770-1850) which appeared in his 1798 collection Lyrical Ballads, the book he co-authored with his fellow Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Although not one of the more famous poems from that collection, it deserves close analysis because it contains a
February 12, 2021, 9:30am Love, for all its infinite variety, has not changed so very much over the centuries. From ecstasy to anguish, it is a universal experience that has been expressed countless times in the great love stories and poetry. Recently, I have had the pleasure of sorting through loves both ancient and modern
February 12, 2021, 12:34pm Utah is making headlines again, and not because of a Mormon-related scandal, Mitt Romney, or the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (which, by the way, is a delightful circus of megalomanic #girlbosses who wear frozen Instagram faces, and my new guilty pleasure). No, this time they’re
Edmund Spenser (c. 1552-99) is one of the greatest of the Elizabethan poets. When he died in 1599 and was interred in Westminster Abbey, alongside his hero Geoffrey Chaucer, it’s rumoured that Shakespeare may have been among the mourners tossing poems into his grave. Spenser left behind a sonnet sequence, a half-finished epic poem, and
February 12, 2021, 10:24am “There could be weeks when nothing goes right.” So says 45-year-old typecaster—and last of a dwindling breed—Brian Ferret about his unlikely vocation. Brian handcrafts metal type, one by one, at Arion Press, using antique machinery to squeeze out a mix of hot lead, tin, and antimony into tiny beautiful letters. Everyone
TODAY: In 1891, Kate Roberts was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the 20th century, is born. “Still, the best, most generative conversations mostly happen out of the public eye.” Wayne Miller on the hazards of talking poetry on social media. | Lit Hub As Gabriel Byrne watches his father’s decline, he wonders if it’s ever
‘The Machine Stops’ (1909) is probably E. M. Forster’s best-known short story. The story’s influence can arguably be seen on George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Like many other dystopian stories, Forster’s has gone on to influence popular culture in numerous fields (the pop group Level 42 even
Featured above: As US Capitol police clear the premises of rioters, a sign concedes President-elect Biden won the election, but wants the results overturned. All photos by Rachel Cobb. * January 6, 2021: A group tries to force their way into the east entrance of the Capitol.* Rioters use stolen police shields, flag poles, and
February 12, 2021, 1:38pm “I have all my life been far from being an admirer,” wrote Thomas Bernhard in his novel Old Masters: A Comedy. “Nothing repels me more than observing people in the act of admiration, people infected with some admiration.” As in art was it in life: the controversial satirical playwright, poet and
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the meaning of Hamlet’s famous quotation ‘A little more than kin …’ ‘A little more than kin, and less than kind’ is a famous quotation from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. But as ‘a little more than kin, and less than kind’ is a
February 12, 2021, 11:25am Chicago’s only Black woman-owned bookstore opened in the summer of 2019. Over the past two years, Semicolon has served as a vital and vibrant cultural hub and gallery space. Last summer, as the coronavirus began to tear through our country and small businesses had to close their doors, Semicolon owner DL
February 11, 2021, 2:22pm Exciting news! The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is currently in the process of digitizing the Walter O. Evans Collection of Frederick Douglass and Douglass Family Papers. The collection will be fully digitized for public access by the end of February. The Yale Daily News advises that once the collection
Poetry is something that people often turn to for relaxation, and poets have frequently sought out calm, rest, and tranquillity so they can find inspiration for their poetry, or find time to think and write. For William Wordsworth, poetry was ‘emotion recollected in tranquillity’. Below, we introduce ten of the very best poems about rest