“What was consciousness other than the surface of the soul’s ocean?”

knausgaard5jpgIn a Paris Review interview, Jesse Barron observes that Karl Ove Knausgaard’s work is “so aesthetically forceful as to be revolutionary.” What makes it revolutionary is Knausgaard’s goal to write “as close to life as possible” even if it means “breaking” the form of the traditional novel. He said, … Read More

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”

oliver-essaysMuch like Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, this collection of elegant essays by the poet Mary Oliver is for those who “are not trying to help the world go around, but forward.” It’s a guide for dreamers – for people who … Read More

“If we are not fragile, we don’t deserve the world.”

nyeThe poet Naomi Shihab Nye is an expert on how fragile the world can be. She is an Arab-American who grew up in Ferguson, Missouri and Palestine. Perhaps she has never taken “safety” for granted. She describes how knowing “how desolate the landscape can be” has heightened her appreciation … Read More

The 10 Best Books for College Teachers — Part 2

My list of the books that have sparked the biggest changes in how and why I teach continues this week.  What are your favorites?  Share your recommendations in the “Leave a comment” box below or email me at CStover1@madisoncollege.edu.

Dweck6. For those who are looking for research on why … Read More