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.”

 

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