ZETEO

The Right Word

March 18, 2014 by William Eaton

Sometimes a word is all it takes to build a poem. Such is the case in Tomas Tranströmer’s “To Friends behind a Border,” translated from the Swedish by Robert Bly. For me, the poem is constructed around the uncommon word “trilobite,” which refers to a fossil group of extinct marine animals possessing an exoskeleton. An example is shown in the attached picture. Here is the text of the poem, as published in the Spring 2013 issue of The Kenyon Review: […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR

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The Shock of Recognition

March 17, 2014 by Alexia Raynal

One Gap in Children’s Literature Today People in the publishing industry choose which stories get told. When it comes to children’s literature, this means people choose which stories are used to inspire and inform children. Yesterday’s Opinion Pages in the New York Times featured the articles of a father and son as they discussed the limitations of today’s books for kids. In “Where are the People of Color in Children’s Books?” Walter D. Myers (father) draws from his experience as […]

Categories: Alexia Raynal, ZiR • Tags: art, children, children's literature, education, literature, New York Times

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Justice for Rapists: In the Courtroom or on Campus?

March 15, 2014 by William Eaton

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, I have been following the recent activism and journalism that has flared up in response to sexual assault accusations on college campuses, and the mishandling of such situations by universities. While researching these trends, and rueing over how to better deal with something as serious as rape, beyond a mere slap on the wrist or expulsion, I constantly wondered why the police were not being involved in more of these cases. Although I take […]

Categories: Caterina Gironda, ZiR

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Empathy

March 14, 2014 by Jennifer Dean

Today I read The New Yorker article where Peter Lanzing shares his story with journalist Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning. It reminded me of a similar piece I read years after the Columbine killings where one of the mothers of the perpetrators recounted her struggles – and I couldn’t help but think of the Lynne Ramsey movie We Need to Talk About Kevin. There is no question that the grief of the victims in mass killings is justified but the parents of those who […]

Categories: Jennifer Dean, ZiR • Tags: ethics, film, New Yorker

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Masterpiece of a Misfit – I

March 13, 2014 by William Eaton

This is the first of three reviews of Sir Richard Francis Burton’s masterful travelogue of his journey in 1853 to Mecca and Medina, disguised as a faithful pilgrim. Read one of Burton’s masterful sentences in Misfit II Burton brings the pilrgrimage to life in Misfit III So said Tim Mackintosh-Smith, British traveler and one of today’s leading authors and students of travel writing, of Sir Richard Francis Burton’s A Secret Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Burton was an outstanding linguist, but […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR • Tags: literature, travel

If Only, the Hippogriff

March 11, 2014 by William Eaton

It’s the rainy season in Bogotá, Colombia, where I live. This can mean cold rain and overhanging black clouds for three months straight. But today the sun is out, and I am taking my baby to the park. So in honor of this critical event, I am posting a poem by playful children’s poet X. J. Kennedy. Hippogriff To look at this fictitious steed You’d think some mixed-up farmer Had crossed an eagle with a horse. It carries knights in […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR

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Idealized Childhoods

March 10, 2014 by Alexia Raynal

If Charles Dickens was alive today, I think he would agree: childhood doesn’t have to be the best time of life People like to think that childhood is the best time of life. They see children as being carefree and happy. This has always made me uncomfortable. As I read the first chapters of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, I couldn’t help but thinking that many people have forgotten how painful, frustrating and disempowering the life of a child can be. In the opening […]

Categories: Alexia Raynal, ZiR • Tags: Charles Dickens, childhood, children, education, Great Expectations, literature

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No Citizen Left Behind?

March 9, 2014 by William Eaton

Revisiting this Proverbial Question of Equal Opportunity Review of No Citizen Left Behind by Meira Levinson (Harvard University Press, 2012) {click for pdf} By Moorel Bey And what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all, the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead in America. (Applause.) President Barack Obama, 2014 State of […]

Categories: Review • Tags: African-Americans, education, Harvard University, segregation

“An Honest Day’s Work”: Porn Pays Tuition for “Belle Knox”

March 8, 2014 by William Eaton

A colleague recently brought to my attention the story of “Belle Knox,” a Duke University freshman who was outed (and subsequently harassed on campus and social media) for her decision to work in the porn industry to help pay for her exorbitant tuition. ( I find it necessary to mention that my mother’s name is Belle, my fiancé’ was recently accepted to Duke University, and I had the noteworthy experience of befriending Amanda Knox, whom Belle derives her stage name […]

Categories: Caterina Gironda, ZiR

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