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Macbeth and other guilty souls in literature

2 days ago

In his book "Guilt: The Bite of Conscience," published by Stanford University Press in October, Herant Katchadourian explores the many manifestations of guilt across disciplines, religions and philosophies. Here, Katchadourian, emeritus professor of psychiatry and human biology at Stanford University, assesses the role of guilt in literature. GUEST BLOGGER: Herant Katchadourian Clinicians and behavioral scientists focus mostly on the subjective and psychological aspects of guilt -- feeling guilty. Prophets, theologians, philosophers and legal scholars are more concerned with the objective element in guilt as culpability -- being guilty. Literature offers a vast array of descriptions and insights into guilt that provide compelling illustrations of the experience of guilt, as well as penetrating insights into its nature. The oldest, and most compelling example is the Greek tragedy, "Oedipus Rex," by Sophocles. The story of King Oedipus -- and Freud's Oedipus complex ...

A chance encounter -- and a literary delight

3 days ago

By Dennis Drabelle Here's why bookstores will always be important to me. Last week, on a visit to Philadelphia, I stopped in at the Book Trader, a roomy secondhand store on Second Street, looking for something to read, wanting to be surprised. While browsing the fiction shelves, I noticed "Chad Hanna" (1940), by Walter D. Edmonds, and a bell rang in my head: The book was made into a movie (also 1940) with Henry Fonda. Not a movie I'd seen, but one of whose existence I was aware. I picked up the volume, an old Bantam Pathfinder paperback, saw that the eponymous Chad is a circus roustabout circa 1836, and that was all I needed to know -- I made the purchase. "Chad Hanna" may not be an incandescent masterpiece, but it's nicely paced and evocative, not to mention intelligent, informative, diverting, frank (but not lewd) about sex. Its author,

Wrath of Capt. Sully, manly titles, Supreme Court's Cuba book decision, an attorney's tale of DC ...

4 days ago

Capt. Sullenberger vs. William Langewiesche on landing in the Hudson. ... Best books for boys and young men. ... Supreme Court declines to enter fray over Cuba book. ... Attorney plans book on D.C. sniper. ... Must-read social media books. ...Google, Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers submit new version of digital book settlement.

Sin, Redemption and the State

5 days ago

So you've sinned. Now what? Gary A. Anderson, a professor in the Department of Theology at Notre Dame, may have an answer for you. In his book "Sin: A History," published by Yale University Press in September, Anderson explores the roots of sin and atonement. Hint: help the poor. But what if the state moves in, as it has in the past 500 years, and takes on a large responsibility for aiding the disadvantaged? How, then, does the average sinner pay off his debt? GUEST BLOGGER: Gary A. Anderson During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama gave a landmark speech on race relations. He remarked that the "original sin of slavery" had left a "stain" on our nation. The usage of the biblical metaphor of sin as a stain allowed President Obama to say something quite profound. In the Bible, sin is not just a vague mental notion that something has

Fort Hood and the invisibility of Arab Americans

6 days ago

A memorial to the victims of the Fort Hood shooting stands on the grounds of Casa Del Norte, the apartment complex where the gunman Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan lived in Killeen, Texas. (Eli Meir Kaplan/Getty Images) The Fort Hood shootings have re-ignited conversation about the place of Arab and Muslim Americans in U.S. culture. Syrian-American civil rights attorney Alia Malek has probed the question deeply in her book "A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories," published by Free Press in October. The book tells the individual tales of Arab Americans working the assembly line, holding public office and serving in the armed forces. Malek has discovered that despite their contributions Arab Americans remain mostly sidelined in the story of America. Here she reflects on Arab-American invisibility which tends to vanish only in moments of national tension. GUEST BLOGGER: Alia Malek Arabs - both Christian and Muslim - began