Monthly Archives: May 2014

Thursday May 22 —> July 30 1)         Part One:  May 22:   “Remember sun screen” —   Pine Ridge, SD is about 3400 ft above sea level,  sun shines more directly here than in Motown at 300 ft elevation.   In most … Continue reading →

Saturday  May 17  15,000 trees on the east side A UofD grad Mike Nagy  (1988 Electrical Engineering) was visiting  his old college neighborhood and we drove over to the East Side looking for the blocks where the (John) Hantz tree … Continue reading →

May 16th, 2014 On May 6th, I asked members of the listserv to share how they feel and express gratitude. I have compiled the responses (all of them thoughtful and moving reflections) below. And, since I am a Victorianist and … Continue reading →

Thursday  May 15  —  Nurse as Miracle Worker The patient wounded in their narrow beds Welcome me and smile as I go by Down the long wooden buildings where they lie Wan weary rows of helpless haggard heads — Mysterious … Continue reading →

Wednesday May 14 – urban farming & young energy I’m cheating a little.   I got up early to prepare for today’s Half-Day Mission Retreat with a great mix of UDM people (1 dean, 1 associate vp,  5 faculty members, … Continue reading →

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 street music at Eastern Market A couple Saturdays ago on the corner of Winder and Russell, kitty corner from Shed 2, by Rockies, the drummer wasn’t there. Pretty astonishing since he has become a fixture for … Continue reading →

Monday May 12 — A silence in which another voice may speak Commencement days. Lots of immediate work to dress campus at its best (missed, though, on the laggard cherry trees alongside Briggs). Lots of logistic work to get graduates … Continue reading →

Friday, May 9th, 2014 This is another of my favorite poems, “What the Living Do.” Marie Howe wrote it after the death of her brother John from AIDS. It captures the experience of the one who is left behind, the … Continue reading →

Yesterday I posted about the role that fiction and poetry can play in helping us imagine individuals when we are faced with suffering on a mass scale. Today I want to share a poem by Agha Shahid Ali, “At the … Continue reading →

Much of my research has focused on the emotional and ethical impact of empathy and literature. How do we imagine ourselves in the place of fictional characters and “feel with” their emotions? How can our feelings for fictional characters affect … Continue reading →