Take a look, it's in a book.

I don't remember exactly how I got linked to it, but I am a huge fan of the Better Living Through Beowulf blog. The author, Robin Bates, is a professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland and as far as I can tell the most well-read person alive. Not only does he demystify classic literature and poetry to make it more personal for everyday people, but he always picks his pieces based on current events, either global or personal. He writes a ton in every post, but none of it goes over your head. His blog really was the inspiration for this one (though he updates much more frequently).

I was catching up on some posts today, and read two pieces that really piqued my interest and curiosity, so much that I ended up reading a lot more about them than just what was supplied in the blog. The first was a very interesting post called The (Out Of Control) Passion of Mel Gibson. In it Bates almost plays a psychologist, interpreting Gibson's movies (and personal life) as a result his crazy Catholic upbringing. His observations about the male struggle for success through masochism are really thought-provoking.

The other post, Mama Grizzly vs. Real Grizzlies, offers a Goldilocks parody poem written by his father Scott Bates. I recently read another one about the oil spill that really touched my heart, so I went into G IS FOR A LITTLE GIRL WITH LONG GOLDEN HAIR very excited to see what came out. As it turns out, a really "scarily prescient" allusion to Sarah Palin's attitudes and policies. If you're an environmentalist, if you're creeped out by the Tea Party, or if you just love interesting poetry, you'll love this post.

I hope perusing Better Living Through Beowulf inspires more people to read and to explore literature to find out more about themselves. I know that I've become closer to my fiancée after reading Bates's thoughts on Citizen Kane, and I've been itching to pick up The Canterbury Tales to really go back and absorb the feminine power of the Wife of Bath.

Love, and stay interesting!

K