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Ashok Karra

Ashok Karra

370 posts published

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Jane Hirshfield, "I sat in the sun"
poetry

Jane Hirshfield, "I sat in the sun"

Jane Hirshfield opens the sacredness of the everyday in "I sat in the sun."

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Oct 14, 2024 • 4 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 8: Sample Final Exam
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 8: Sample Final Exam

Much has been said about the public's addiction to cable news or TikTok.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Oct 6, 2024 • 5 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 7: Normative Ethics
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 7: Normative Ethics

Education is your responsibility to your community.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Oct 3, 2024 • 7 min read
A few remarks on class in America, or on the importance of subtext
american politics

A few remarks on class in America, or on the importance of subtext

Part of the problem with explaining social class and wealth to you is that I'm not entirely sure how it all works.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 30, 2024 • 5 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 6: Plato's "Apology"
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 6: Plato's "Apology"

The examined life is a radical proposition, and I can't tell you that everyone will be happier if they aim for it.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 28, 2024 • 8 min read
On Nietzsche's Bees
philosophy

On Nietzsche's Bees

Do you need to be conscious of history to know yourself?

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 26, 2024 • 4 min read
Lecture 5: Closing "Antigone," Opening Plato's "Apology of Socrates"
philosophy

Lecture 5: Closing "Antigone," Opening Plato's "Apology of Socrates"

We are unable to use the law to gain a larger vision of what is right.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 20, 2024 • 8 min read
I just donated to the Haitian Community Help and Support Center
american politics

I just donated to the Haitian Community Help and Support Center

Society does not actually depend on the loud guy at the council meeting saying he pays taxes, no one else does, therefore no one else should get anything but him.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 14, 2024 • 3 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 4: Writing the Midterm
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 4: Writing the Midterm

...I can believe that "everything is water" from my own life.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 12, 2024 • 3 min read
Elisa Gabbert, "In Nature"
poetry

Elisa Gabbert, "In Nature"

Elisa Gabbert's "In Nature," for me, remarks upon a scholarly problem, if not a philosophical one.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 8, 2024 • 4 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 3: The Ode to Man and a Definition of Humanity
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 3: The Ode to Man and a Definition of Humanity

"Antigone" serves as reflection on some incredibly uncomfortable truths.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Sep 3, 2024 • 8 min read
Kay Ryan, "Shoot the Moon"
poetry

Kay Ryan, "Shoot the Moon"

Kay Ryan's "Shoot the Moon" is a tough poem.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 31, 2024 • 2 min read
A. R. Ammons, "Uppermost"
poetry

A. R. Ammons, "Uppermost"

The sacred is earthly, and the earth itself the mystery.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 29, 2024 • 3 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 2: Introducing "Antigone"
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 2: Introducing "Antigone"

It took me a long time to realize that "What is family?" is the question "Antigone" begins with and refuses to minimize.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 23, 2024 • 5 min read
Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 1: Porochista Khakpour's "Just (Don't) Do It" and Ursula K. Le Guin on Writing
philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy, Lecture 1: Porochista Khakpour's "Just (Don't) Do It" and Ursula K. Le Guin on Writing

You’ll notice that self-reflection, done right, probably isn’t going to lead to “everything is great and I have no complaints.”

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 19, 2024 • 6 min read
Plan for Introduction to Philosophy, Fall 2024
philosophy

Plan for Introduction to Philosophy, Fall 2024

I'm putting together a philosophy class and I thought you might like to see the plan.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 15, 2024 • 2 min read
Daughter, "Shallows" & "Be On Your Way"
music

Daughter, "Shallows" & "Be On Your Way"

I'm getting back into Daughter, a shoegaze trio from London.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 11, 2024 • 4 min read
Osip Mandelstam, "The Poem"
poetry

Osip Mandelstam, "The Poem"

Knowing the most essential part of your experience can find words is freedom.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Aug 5, 2024 • 4 min read
Kay Ryan, "Poetry is a Kind of Money"
poetry

Kay Ryan, "Poetry is a Kind of Money"

"Poetry is a kind of money." I can't imagine writing that and not saying to yourself man I wish.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 30, 2024 • 5 min read
Mara Pastor, "Left"
poetry

Mara Pastor, "Left"

I would advise you to read this poem by the prominent Puerto Rican poet Mara Pastor a few times, inhaling its ferocity.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 27, 2024 • 3 min read
Rae Armantrout, "Decor"
poetry

Rae Armantrout, "Decor"

This text serves as the intersection of a few complicated themes: the cheapness of capitalism, relationships, and identity.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 23, 2024 • 5 min read
Emily Dickinson, "I had no time to Hate"
poetry

Emily Dickinson, "I had no time to Hate"

...this little poem starts with trying to look into a quiet, lush landscape painting and wish yourself there.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 18, 2024 • 4 min read
Kay Ryan, "The Elephant in the Room"
poetry

Kay Ryan, "The Elephant in the Room"

I don't want to admit I'm being squeezed. I don't want to admit I lack room. I want to pretend like everything's normal.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 14, 2024 • 4 min read
I wish I could tell you that I had a shortcut for getting people to care about solutions
american politics

I wish I could tell you that I had a shortcut for getting people to care about solutions

I had just finished writing about Robert Frost's "The Gift Outright" when I started doubting its utility.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 11, 2024 • 5 min read
Robert Frost, "The Gift Outright"
poetry

Robert Frost, "The Gift Outright"

"The Gift Outright" could seduce through its music alone.

  • Ashok Karra
Ashok Karra Jul 7, 2024 • 6 min read
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