Charles Simic at Baruch College

U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic spoke here at Baruch last Tuesday, March 18. He’s teaching here this spring as part of the Harman Writer in Residence Program, which brings a different writer to Baruch each semester. He read from a number of poems written over the course of his career. The reading was alternately poignant and bitterly funny. One memorable poem was ‘Serving Time,’ excerpted here:

‘Here on death row, I read a lot of books.

First it was law, as you’d expect.

Then came history, ancient and modern.

Finally philosophy–all that being and nothingness stuff.

The more I read, the less I understand.

Still, other inmates call me professor.’

(Simic, Charles. Sixty Poems, p88; originally appeared in The Voice at 3AM, 2003).

Simic’s sense of humor shone through during his reading, even when he was discussing serious events and issues. Originally from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he lived through World War II and the occupation of that country by the Nazis. To find out more about Simic and his work, and to hear more of his readings, you can visit his website at the Library of Congress.

You can watch the entire video of the Baruch event by clicking this link.

The Children of Hurin

This book is one of the best things I’ve read in the past few years. Granted, Tolkien is my favorite writer. But the book shows his versatility–it’s very different in tone from The Lord of the Rings. It is unrelenting in its darkness, a tragedy without redemption. It’s hard to read this book and not be moved. Tolkien uses very little sentiment in describing his characters, which makes their suffering even more sympathetic, in my mind.

The work centers mostly on Turin, Hurin’s son, and his sad wanderings. Hurin, after being captured by Morgoth, refuses to bow to him, dooming his family to Morgoth’s curse. His pride causes endless suffering. Turin’s life is covered in shadows; no matter what he does it ends badly for him and everyone he cares about. Hurin’s daughter Nienor and wife Morwen are similarly doomed to live as refugees, subjected to constant peril their entire lives. In this way the book has the feeling of one of the Norse sagas or Greek tragedy.

For Tolkien fans, this is an essential read. If you are interested in fantasy or enjoyed the Lord of the Rings, it doesn’t get much better than this.

The Search

Very thoughtful and interesting article in the NY Times about comic books dealing with the Holocaust that are being used in German schools.