Tag Archives: death
Vantage Point
by cheri block What would your current frustrations look like from the vantage point of the final days of your life? I read this quotation this morning in a little book of Eastern wisdom. The point, obviously, is that our … Continue reading
On The Death of Ivan Ilych
by cheri block My class this semester is entitled The Meaning of Life: Moral and Spiritual Inquiry Through Literature. Part of the requirements is to submit a one page reflection after reading the short story, play, or novel assigned each … Continue reading
Good-bye Joe
by cheri block I have just learned that my mentor, Joe, died suddenly last night. As Joe would have it, I am supposed to teach in 30 minutes, so I cannot cry my eyes out (yet). Our lunch meeting to … Continue reading
The Wedding Feast at Cana
by cheri block I turned back, once more, to view Veronese’s enormous painting entitled The Wedding Feast at Cana, created in 1563. Of all of the works I saw in a short 5-hour period at the Louvre—including the Mona Lisa … Continue reading
Mr. Griswold’s Eulogy
Mr. Keane looks like Gordon Lindsey, I told my dad in 1961. Gordon Lindsey was the owner of the local mortuary, the one we kids tip-toed by on our way to school. Mr. Lindsey grew red roses and calla lilies … Continue reading
Where is the French voice?
My blog is usually about writing, literature, people, dignity, and philosophy. So you will bear with me as I deviate from my normal humor and address one of of life’s unfinished horrors— France’s role in deporting 78,000 men, women, and … Continue reading
Max on Frost
Most children educated in the United States are familiar with the sweet poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Because it is short and intellectually manageable, I use it to teach literary analysis to my younger … Continue reading
Charlotte was on to something (amended)
by cheri block sabraw with thanks to Brighid for her comment One of my best students that year, Mark, received some very bad news one weekend, the type of news that forces deep introspection about everything one believes. His younger … Continue reading
813.52
by cheri block sabraw In the days before 1995, in order to read literary criticism, students had to go to the library, use the Dewey Decimal System, and browse the stacks with heads clicked to the right, ear to shoulder. … Continue reading
Whom, Whom
A parliament of Great Horned Owls lives in the trees by my bedroom door. Deep into the dark, while the busyness of day suspends itself in an obedient nap, the owls begin their monosyllabic songs. Hoot, hoot, they call, in … Continue reading
