← Feed

Posts

• Post #2408457

  #SilentSunday From this afternoon's walk by a (reconstructed) prairie.

• Post #2367651

  Excerpts from John Roberts' high school English essays—must reading for anyone who's studied English. https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/excerpts-from-chief-justice-john-roberts-high-school-english-essays

• Post #2051932

  The phony claims that campuses are suppressing intellectual freedom are just a cover for right-wing efforts to shut down the intellectual freedom they pretend to support. https://www.ms.now/opinion/iowa-intellectual-freedom-christopher-rufo-republicans #Education #Universities

• Post #2051931

  From this afternoon's walk. #SilentSunday #Lake #Walking

• Post #1086780

  The English department was "told they could no longer teach texts written by gay authors." "We have even been told to censor novels with gay characters." For Texas, it's goodbye Shakespeare & some half of the history of literature. https://www.npr.org/2026/04/08/nx-s1-5561690/public-university-professors-in-texas-say-a-new-law-restricts-their-academic-freedom #Teaching #Reading #Censorship #Education #Shakespeare #Texas

• Post #1021567

  Sign from today's No Kings protest in Urbana, Illinois. #NoKings #Trump #Protest #USPolitics

• Post #1021566

  #Moon #Earth

• Post #783200

  Disgraceful: the University of Iowa decided to close its African American Studies program (in Black History Month, no less), supposedly (but of course not really) because they don't have enough majors. That's like shooting yourself in the foot because your foot hurts. #Education #BlackHistory #Universities https://dailyiowan.com/2026/02/12/opinion-closing-the-african-american-studies-program-is-a-gut-wrenching-loss-to-faculty-and-students/

• Post #783198

  Some of you will know Elizabeth Bishop’s great poem “Visits to St. Elizabeths” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53008/visits-to-st-elizabeths about visiting Ezra Pound where was hospitalized after he faked insanity to dodge charges of treason. Well, Kristi Noem (aka ICE Barbie) is tearing St. E down (bec she thinks it leaves DHS vulnerable to snipers)—& in the process exposing DHS employees to asbestos poisoning. (I wrote abt Bishop’s poem in my book The Unbeliever: The Poetry of E...

• Post #783197

  'Those who attack academic freedom often misunderstand who academic freedom protects: mistaking it for coddling of entitled professors when in fact it serves the common good.' Excellent critique of the right-wing push for "viewpoint diversity" in academia. Can apply to teaching as well as to research. https://stanforddaily.com/2026/02/17/viewpoint-diversity-betrays-common-good/ #Education #Universities

• Post #783196

  US Republicans have proposed a nationwide book ban. Wouldn't this crazy bill be unconstitutional? And wouldn't it also sweep up—just for starters—the Bible and Shakespeare in its pitiful claws? https://bookriot.com/hr7661-book-ban-legislation/ #Books #Reading #Libraries #Censorship

• Post #783195

  If you're eligible, I hope you'll vote. I voted in the primary election today. #Voting #Elections #Citizenship

• Post #783194

  Article on children's poetry in the schools, with lots of interesting and fun ideas: https://childrenspoetrysummit.com/2026/03/20/jon-biddle-using-poetry-to-build-a-classroom-reading-culture/ #Poetry #Education

• Post #783192

  Publisher withdraws novel after writer accused of writing with AI: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/20/hachette-horror-novel-shy-girl-suspected-ai-use-mia-ballard #AI #Writing #Novels #Literature #Publishing

• Post #427882

  Found, by the Library of Congress, a long-lost 1897 Méliès film, 45 seconds long, the first film to portray a robot. If you like Méliès''s whacko early films (and why wouldn't you?), you'll want to see this: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/ #Film #Movies #Comedy #SciFi