Category Archives: Poetry

Sewanee’s Moon Tree: A Poem & A Reflection

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

From the NASA wesbite: Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomical, Poetry, Sewanee, Time, Trees & Flowers | Leave a comment

Dante Purgatorio cantos 22-23 cartoons

Posted on January 27, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

About 20 years ago, former student of mine at Boston College made these cartoons for me of Purgatorio cantos 22-23, on the Prodigal and the Gluttonous. She dashed them off, but I think they’re really wonderful.

Posted in Bible, Cartoons, Classics, Florence, Italy, Poetry, Saints, Time, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Notes on Ovid’s Fasti 1.1-288

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

These are some notes I made for a class I taught over two decades ago at Boston College on Ovid’s Fasti, his epic poem on the Roman calendar,  At that time, there wasn’t a good commentary on Book 1, although … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Italy, Poetry, Rome, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ovid’s Priapus (Notes on Fasti 1.391-441)

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

These are some notes I made for a class I taught over two decades ago at Boston College on Ovid’s Fasti, his epic poem on the Roman calendar,  At that time, there wasn’t a good commentary on Book 1, although … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Italy, Mythology, Poetry, Rome, Trees & Flowers, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Protected: John Ciardi, “About Rivers and Toes”

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Posted in Boston, Education, Poetry, Rivers, Trees & Flowers, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

Lauro de Bosis’ Gesture

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

From George Garrett’s “A Wreath for Garibaldi,” Kenyon Review 23 (1961) 487-88: It is hard for me to know how I feel about Lauro di Bosis. I suffer from mixed feelings. He was a well-to-do, handsome, and sensitive young poet. … Continue reading →

Posted in Emblems, Italy, Military, Poetry, Rome, Statues & Monuments | Leave a comment

Protected: Good and faithful servant

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Posted in Animals, Bible, Cemeteries & Funerals, Dogs, Emblems, Military, Poetry, Statues & Monuments, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

No middle way out of the waste land?

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

I just love the March 6, 1950 cover of Time magazine, which depicts T.S. Eliot poised between a cross over his left shoulde, and a martini (or is it a grail?) on his right. The caption below reads, “No middle … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Language & Etymology, Poetry, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Gassed”: My Thoughts and Another’s, Unknown

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

John Singer Sargent’s Gassed (1919)– I’ve seen it twice, last fall at the Frist’s WWI & American Art exhibit and, more memorably, in 2012 at the Imperial War Museum in London. The Olympics were on, and service men and women … Continue reading →

Posted in Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, England, Military, Poetry, Sports & Games, Time | Leave a comment

Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes: Prefatory Remarks for the Alderson-Tillinghast Inaugural Lecture

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

Many thanks to all of you for being here today, a day I have long been awaiting, because it is the day when I finally get to express my deep gratitude to the University and its benefactors, and particularly to … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Pontius Pilate, Sewanee, Time | Leave a comment