Chapter & Verse

Suzanne Ekman hopes someone can identify a source for the following line, possibly from a Mark Van Doren poem: “…but where were...

Suzanne Ekman hopes someone can identify a source for the following line, possibly from a Mark Van Doren poem: “…but where were you?”

Perry Miles asks which author, when queried about whether any difference existed between the “tyranny of the left and that of the right,” replied, “It is the difference between dogs and cats” (or words to that effect).

“inglorious Miltons” (May-June 2006). Richard Barbieri forwards a copy of the poem “After Sending Freshmen to Describe a Tree.” He thinks that its author, Robert Hogan, may be the late editor of the Dictionary of Irish Literature, a longtime professor at the University of Delaware. The 10-line work begins, “Twenty inglorious Miltons looked at a tree and saw God,” and ends, “Not one of the Miltons saw any trees./If you must see a tree, clean, clear, and bright,/For God’s sake and mine, look outside your heart and write.”

 

Send inquiries and answers to “Chapter and Verse,” Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via e-mail to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

Bringing Korean Stories to Life

Composer Julia Riew writes the musicals she needed to see.

Being Undocumented in America

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing aims to challenge assumptions. 

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Explore More From Current Issue

Man in gray sweater standing in hallway with colorful abstract art on wall.

How Do Single-Celled Organisms Learn and Remember?

A Harvard neuroscientist’s quest to model memory

Man splashing water on his face at outdoor fountain beside woman holding cup near stone building.

Why Heat Waves Make You Miserable

Scientists are studying how much heat and humidity the human body can take.

Johnston Gate

Your Views on Harvard’s Standoff, Antisemitism, and More

Readers comment on the controversial July-August cover, authoritarianism, and scientific research.