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George Steiner: The Death of Tragedy

April 26, 2007 David Hurley 0

For Steiner, tragic drama is a uniquely western achievement. In Judaism, sin causes disaster; to the Greek disaster lies beyond reason or justice. Elizabethan tragedy coincided with the loss of early Renaissance optimism. Yet after Racine, tragedy was in decline with the rise of the bourgeoise and its love of [Read more…]

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Matsuo Basho: The Narrow Road to Oku

April 23, 2007 David Hurley 0

In 1689 the poet Basho wrote his famous fifth travel diary describing his spring and summer journey with Sora, his companion, into the northern hinterland of Japan. The narrative is studded with haiku commemorative of things seen or felt, of the blossoming moment in nature and society, the joys and discomforts [Read more…]

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Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Time of Gifts

April 12, 2007 David Hurley 0

A Time of Gifts in 100 Words In December 1933 Patrick Leigh Fermor, aged eighteen, set out to walk from Rotterdam to Istanbul. This volume ends at the Danube and is compelling recovery of a middle-aged writer’s youthful zest and engaging curiosity. Handsome, charming, erudite, blessed with a gift for [Read more…]

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Eric Hoffer: The Ordeal of Change

April 4, 2007 David Hurley 0

The Ordeal of Change in 100 Words Where opportunities abound change releases energies, breeding confidence in self-reliant men. Without opportunities and self-reliance people turn to faith, pride, unity, Hoffer argues. Hoffer attributes the ferment of the West since the Renaissance to the intellectual’s hunger for recognition. Intellectuals, given authority, plan, [Read more…]