Ashok Karra

art

Agnes Martin, "Praise"

It is a pink square with a texture like a paper napkin.

philosophy

On the Problem of "Missing Out"

We believe who we were could understand who we are.

poetry

Emily Dickinson, "As willing lid o’er weary eye" (1050)

...the evening would not be the evening, nor the day the day, if we did not labor and require rest.

politics

Generational Conflict and the Question of Value

This moment feels more radical, as if the very possibility of change—I'm not even speaking of a specific change—were an affront to divinity.

poetry

Innocence and Experience: On Kay Ryan's "Crown"

The sacred as untouchable, inviolable, inaccessible makes sense to me.

Tucker Carlson's Departure

Tucker Carlson being out at Fox is a huge deal. If I could organize a symposium of academics to talk about it, I would.

american politics

Love thy neighbor

I finish writing a short piece on nihilism, and then I have to confront the news.

poetry

On Nihilism: Kay Ryan's "Nothing Ventured"

I confess confusion regarding the word "nihilism."

philosophy

An Ordinance of Reason

A number of events have me wondering about Aquinas' definition of law.

poetry

On Creation: Emily Dickinson, "I dwell in Possibility"

...genuine expressions of identity are nothing less than poetry.

poetry

"Eternity waits:" On Adam Zagajewski's "Gulls" (from "En Route")

"Eternity doesn't travel, / eternity waits." Zagajewski proposes a mystic truth. Before we can debate it, we have to believe it in some sense.

poetry

Adam Zagajewski, "Segesta" (from "En Route")

You only see when you see differently.

poetry

Not beyond pain: Emily Dickinson, "Presentiment — is that long Shadow — on the Lawn" (764)

There are days of disappointment.

poetry

Our Daily Bread: Paul Celan, "I hear the axe has flowered"

So many times I've been told pain is necessary for growth.

poetry

Comfort and the Soul: Vsevolod Nekrasov, "The Soul"

When I was in graduate school, two words were too much.

poetry

On the Meaning of Survival: Kay Ryan's "Turtle"

Really good art makes you really mad.

american politics

On Democratic Virtues: East Palestine, Ohio

...screaming bloody murder when you have urgent and serious reasons to question authority is a political virtue.

poetry

Of Cruelty and Calamity

We're all broken into eveningwear and skull.

philosophy

About Me

...I'm writing things like "I am an award-winning teacher" and "I help students identify and use their resources" three or four times a week.

poetry

On Declaring Oneself: Charles Simic's "Tattooed City"

You could say calling yourself "an incomprehensible / Bit of doodle" has nothing to do with the birth of 17th century rationalism.

poetry

Irving Feldman, "The Recognitions"

One of the best gifts that can be given is paying attention to someone.

poetry

Kay Ryan, "Patience"

Kay Ryan does not bring us to the landscape, but the land itself.

poetry

Franz Wright, "Solution"

It's hard to identify, when living in an area which isn't working for you, what is and isn't knowledge.

poetry

The "Soul" in Emily Dickinson's "The Soul selects her own Society" (303)

Dickinson, even when choosing her own society, does not fail to remind herself of the cost of company, a cost not unlike isolation...

american politics

On NBC News' Interview with MLK, May 8th, 1967

I yield my time to a far more effective teacher than I am.