Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. – Wendell Berry I’ve been spending time lately in some circles where it’s cool to be cynical, clever to be critical. If you dare to raise a note of optimism in this crowd, you risk being branded a simpleton. Oblivious […]
Years ago, I was lucky to hear the legendary Rev. Prof. Peter Gomes reference a distinction that Vaclav Havel made between hope and optimism. I recall Rev. Gomes noting that optimism was not really so useful, since optimism could be crushed in the face of failure. But hope, he said, was a much deeper, […]
This week I have read several thoughtful articles with advice for bloggers, all urging focus and thematic clarity (rightly so). But today I am writing not about investing, but about poetry, experts and editors be darned. Because Seamus Heaney’s work has helped me more than all of those blogger-advisers put together. Because poetry is one […]