Dear Daisy Zamora
(After Reading Riverbed of Memory) I admit itI am filled with guiltWe didn’t do enough back in the 80sWhen the Reaganites were determinedTo crush the RevolutionTrue, you might say, the Sandinistas were far from perfectBut…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
To the Reader of “Dear Love of Comrades”
I am happy to share this collaborative work about life over the last fifteen years or so. Having previously twice availed myself of self-publishing through XLibris (Mev, Layla), I decided this time to post the…
Beyond This Week’s News
My friend Andrew Wimmer shared the following provocative view from economist Michael Hudson… The current Democratic impasse shows that no progress can be made without changing the institutional structure of American politics. It seems that…
Power Versus Love
Robert Topmiller, The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964-1966 We are not savages; we are people with an ancient culture, and we are sick in our bones of war. I do…
Share the Wealth with Mario Aleksic: Montenegro’s Culture
This Sunday’s Share the Wealth features my current student Mario who is excited to share about Montenegro, his homeland and his culture. Mario is an avid tennis player and in his first year at Maryville…
Thank You, Liz!
Liz Burkemper sent me news that Ai Weiwei’s memoir is coming out tomorrow!
Dark, Mysterious, Radiant
Bithika Mukerji, Life and Teachings of Sri Ma Anandamayi: A Bird on the WingSri Satguru Publications, 1997 This is a work similar in aim to The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, but about 1/5th the length. …
Some Works Are Greater Than Others
Edward W. Said, Power, Politics, and Culture: Interviews Edited and with an Introduction by Gauri ViswanathanPantheon Books, 2001 Two writers who are well known for their championing of the literary canon are Harold Bloom and George…
Share the Wealth with Megi Celaj–The American Dream and the Lives We Left Behind: An Exploration into the Culture, History, and Current Status of Albania
In the last 10 years, Immigration topics have become increasingly mainstream in both media and politics in the United States. As the topic of immigration will continue to protrude America’s political and social agenda, I…
Remembrance of Teachers Past
Elie Wiesel, Somewhere a Master: Further Hasidic Portraits and Legends This is Elie Wiesel’s third of four installments thus far on his favorite Hasidic teachers, the ones whose tales enchanted him in his childhood, the…