Back to the Beginning
Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia From the second paragraph on page one: “Society is an artificial construction, a defense against nature’s power.” Paglia is not wrong, but she is working from a biased position (as we all do; we each…
It Was Never a Fair Game
Once again, it is International Women’s Day. We ladies get thrown the annual bone: “Here you go, girls. Satisfy yourselves with that,” and we’re supposed to be somehow grateful. I don’t know, maybe we should enjoy it while it lasts.…
Continue the Conversation
Everything is interconnected, which is why I cannot try to isolate the books I read. I need to keep a dozen or so in process. I need to stop worrying about not finishing one or another: no more self-imposed rules,…
What Meets the Eye
Thanks to Camille Paglia, I have mixed (and rather confused) feelings about the Romantic poets. In short, I don’t know what to make of them. If I am to believe Paglia, they were all perverts with strange sexual proclivities that…
Who Do You Serve?
Father Anthony Giambrone, O.P. wrote a Magnificat essay about Peter’s shadow, which just so happened to heal those thronging about him after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Our monthly guide through the more whimsical elements of the Bible acknowledges folklore motifs…
Meaning and Reality
Questions about reality have come up over and over and over in the last year. When answers have been found, they’ve not always been satisfactory, although they have consistently led me to further questions. Oh, but now, that last sentence…
Reality Recognition
One of the big takeaways for me when I read Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae was the notion, common throughout all time, that women are akin to nature/earth/chaos (cyclical and unpredictable) and men are akin to civilization/sky/culture (linear progression and stability).…
