Going and Returning, Receiving and Giving
for Linsey Dieckmeyer 1. Richard Alpert went to India. He entered a whole other world. Grace came knocking at the door, And was looking for Richard. Neem Karoli Baba met him face to face. He…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Just Say Thanks?
1. On last year’s Memorial Day The Cardinals played the Royals And to show their gratitude For the soldiers who died in one war or another The players wore camouflage Instead of their regular uniforms…
Elie Wiesel and the Question of Palestine
This essay was first published in Tikkun, November-December 2002. In his 1986 Nobel lecture, Elie Wiesel spoke with characteristic gravity on any attempt to reckon with the Holocaust: “There are no theological answers, there are no…
Share the Wealth: Poetry Night Sunday 6 April
April is National Poetry Month. In that spirit, select a couple of your favorites, bring several copies to pass around, and we’ll surely hear a variety of poets, themes, historical periods, and styles. Don’t be…
The Poet’s Work and the War’s Work
1. I first came across the poetry of Dunya Mikhail in Eliot Weinberger’s New Directions anthology, World Beat. An Iraqi Christian who speaks Arabic, Aramaic, and English, Mikhail ran afoul of the Iraqi authorities because of her…
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Et Alia
To hear the big fellows talk, they wage war from fear of God and for all things bright and beautiful, but just look into it, and you’ll see they’re not so silly: they want a…
The Varieties of Roots and Fruits
The following selections are from Thích Nhất Hạnh, Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses to Life’s Burning Questions: It’s possible for us to have several spiritual roots. To me, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and all religions…
Mettā
If I do not love myself, I cannot love others also. If we really love ourselves, we cannot think wrongly, cannot talk wrongly, cannot act wrongly. If you know how to love yourself, then you…
BOMO
Lecture by one of the septuagenarian luminaries of liberation theology The unforeseen, ultra-disturbing developments in House of Cards Spiff gala after the Oaks on May 2 The renowned pianist sponsored by one of our generous…
To My Friends by Primo Levi
Dear friends, and here I say friends the broad sense of the word: Wife, sister, associates, relatives, Schoolmates of both sexes, People seen only once Or frequented all my life; Provided that between us, for…