Suffering and Wisdom

Perhaps the most moving artistic creation I have ever encountered was a four hour performance of Aeschylus’s The Oresteia produced by Robert Icke in the Almeida Theater in London. The performance itself was truly staggering, and I would pay an exorbitant sum to have a recording of the performance. I often thought that I would show it to every class of students I taught if I had the means. The interpretation of the canonical Greek tragedy was that impressive, that intricately woven, a near perfect artistic creation.

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Virginia Woolf

The first time I read Mrs. Dalloway, I was actually studying for a class on Faulkner. That said, Woolf’s novel left an impression that has hardly faded over the years.

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Justice

The following poem grew out of a news article that I read in utter disbelief concerning a rape case in Minneapolis. As the poetry collection that I am working on pertains to sexual assault, the story seemed perfectly in line with the subject matter I have chosen. The case itself is so egregious and problematic…

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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s fascination with mental illness is readily apparent in his writings. For years, I taught Macbeth to my 9th grade students, and mental illness plays a decidedly prominent role in the story through both Macbeth’s visions and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking night terrors.

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William Faulkner

In addition to being one of only seven authors in history to win both the Nobel and the Pulitzer prizes for literature, Faulkner wrote about mental illness in a time when the subject was even more of a cultural taboo than it is today.

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Gatekeepers

In the world of concussions, a huge hurdle exists for adolescents in particular with regards to health care response. My own journey became much more trying as the only “medical professional” who treated me following my concussion was a high school athletic trainer. We had one meeting, and then I was on my own. His…

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To David Le’aupepe

So I was jamming out to the band that will surely be my Spotify new artist of the year earlier, and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about some lyrics for a change of pace. The band is Gang of Youths out of Australia, and the song is called “Fear and…

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Natural Healing

Nature has always been a place where I have found peace, and now studies are coming out that support nature as a powerful force in recovering from PTSD.

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