Work in progress.

I can't seem to shake Neil Postman.

This afternoon I was flipping through my most recent issue of Commonweal when I stumbled across an article on the death of Neil Postman. (I'd link to it, but the magazine isn't exactly hip to the times. The new issue isn't on the website yet.) Anyway, it's a glowing eulogy for Postman.

But that's not really the problem. Yes, it would be nice to hide from good old Neil, who will forever haunt me I fear, if not for his constant reappearance in my educational career, but for those astounding fun facts about child molestation in the Middle Ages. Anyway, the real problem is that Commonweal (a review of religion, politics, and culture) has been arriving in my mailbox since sophomore year (free student subscription thanks to a Sister of Charity, no doubt). I've been reading it since then, too, because frankly, at times it's rather interesting. Yeah, sometimes Catholic stuff gets old, but there has been plenty of fodder of late, with the molestation scandal, gay marriage, and whatnot. It's not a bad way to fall asleep at night.

Anyway, why is this Postman reference so strange for me? Well, my sophomore year, the only references I ever understood were to things like the Catholic Worker, which also used to magically appear in my mailbox. Now, though, I'm actually getting a few of their textual references. College must be teaching me something, I suppose.

Now, my last note on Commonweal -- there's an awesome quote by Dana Gioia, chairman of the NEA and a poet. I'll share it because I'm giving of other people's work. "Poetry is a mysterious and involuntary art. You can force it, but not with good results... I have no doubt I will always be able to write a bad poem."