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

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Author and Harvard Divinity School writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams finds beauty in the world around us.

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common

Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks studies horror and fear in literature. 

Most popular

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead

 A Harvard botanist investigates mystic potions, voodoo rites, and the making of zombies.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Explore More From Current Issue

Vibrant urban scene at dusk featuring a mural on a building and illuminated structures.

The Goel Center in Allston will open for performances in the fall of 2026.

A profile illustration of a man surrounded by colorful, whimsical text in multiple languages.

For both American and international students, growing up is like learning a new language.

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.