Literature and Poetry
CultureWatch Book Reviews: Uprising by Sally Armstrong and Joan L. Cannon's New Poems
Julia Sneden reviews: Author Armstrong notes that "The new wave of change isn't about giving the 'little woman'" a fair shake or even about pushing reluctant regimes to adhere to hard-won international laws relating to women. "Together men and women are the two wings of a bird – both wings have to be not wounded, not broken, in order to push the bird forward." Cannon's new book of poetry, My Mind is Made of Crumbs, while dealing with pain and loss, others express the deep connection of their long and happy marriage. more »
The Bletchley Circle Returns: Alice Is Quietly Resigned To the Fact She Will Hang
This second series follows Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean, ordinary women with an extraordinary ability to break codes, a skill honed during World War II when they worked undercover at Bletchley Park, site of the United Kingdom's main decryption establishment. Now, in 1952, the four have returned to civilian life, keeping their intelligence work secret from all, including family and friends. Season Two continues their stories.
This 3-hour series follows Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean, ordinary women with extraordinary ability to break codes, a skill honed during World War II when they worked undercover… more »
An Archipelago of Grief: Vanished, The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II
The following are quotes from Hylton’s fascinating and riveting mystery of the whereabouts of the WWII bomber and its crew, known as the Big Stoop. We cannot help but compare it to the present search for the Malaysia Boeing 370 that has been missing since the March 8th departure from Kuala Lumpur on a flight to Beijing. The quotes from Vanished are reactions from family members after the B-24 crew are classified as MIAs. more »
The Moral Merits of Reading Fiction ... Not One of Literature's Strong Suits?
According to Stanford Professor Joshua Landy, literature plays on our emotions instead of giving us rational reasons to adopt new beliefs, so we can easily be manipulated by it. Getting people to change their beliefs based on emotions is not an unambiguously positive thing: "When I do it, it's called persuasion. When you do it, it's called rhetoric. When they do it, it's called propaganda."
Does reading literature make you more moral? Scholars speaking at a Center for Ethics in Society event say the answer depends on who's reading.
By Justin Tackett… more »