Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast. [Macbeth 2.2.49-52] Sleep. When you really need it, wherever you can get it–a 10 or 20 minute doze in a crowded train or plane, […]
Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care Read More »
I can’t talk. Somewhere at the end of last week, after the fifth Bikram yoga class in seven days, and increasing difficulty breathing, I lost my voice. This is a huge liability for a high school teacher. I could do my job in a wheelchair–but without a voice? When things are really bad, people say: “There are
A voice, a voice, my kingdom for a voice! Read More »
I love HAMLET. Every spring I have the great privilege to teach HAMLET to high school seniors. And I’ve spent over a year now deeply immersed in the process of writing a memoir about Teaching Hamlet as My Father Died. But now, this weekend, I’m seriously considering not teaching HAMLET come March. I was already
To Teach or Not to Teach HAMLET–That is the question Read More »
For well over a year now I have been deeply immersed in the world of grief, examining the process of getting on with life and work (in my case, teaching high school English) in the wake of great personal loss. I’m working on the second draft of my memoir, TEACHING HAMLET AS MY FATHER DIED,
Oh my prophetic soul, my uncle! Read More »
The inscription on the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and much of London after the Great Fire of 1666. Last week I attended the funeral of a beloved grad school professor, Bill Meiers. His departure from the planet was truly a shock. He was a vibrant 56 year-old
Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice Read More »
I believe so strongly in the power and value of WORK. Have To’s. Things you are committed to. How you do your job is important. There are days you do not want to face life, your job or the world. It seems too hard. But it is by stepping into the breech of responsibility, with
An Elephant in an American Classroom Today Read More »
All Souls Day: Shakespeare & Edgar Allan Poe Earlier this month I had a series of visitations from dead people. When I mentioned this to a friend who has had similar experiences, she reminded me that “the spirit world is at its closest” this time of year. Of course! It makes sense. Afterall, October is
Melancholy is the nurse of frenzy: Plays are Respite–respite and nepenthe Read More »
I feel like Don Corleone alone in my garden. Where are the orange wedges? This level of solitude is what I need. And this cool air sunny warmth. My father was in my dream this morning…living in some way station efficiency adobe-style apartment not far from a construction site in the middle of parched earth
I’m a big believer in signs. Providence. Serendipity. Whatever you want to call it. This weekend is our high school’s equivalent of
Messages from the Literary Universe Read More »