Reading Dante’s Divine Comedy poses any number of challenges to modern readers. This should not, I’ll quickly add, deter modern readers from the attempt, which, in my view anyway, will more than repay the effort. In any case, one of these challenges may be the curious astronomical dimensions of Dante’s poem. You may know, for example, that each of the three cantiche that make up the poem – Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso – ends on the same Italian word, stelle, or, in English, stars. Moreover, the […]
Birdsong as a Compass
The booming call of the Pheasant Coucal is soft and rhythmic on a calm, springtime afternoon. I first noticed it in 2004, when I was eight years old. From the window of our old weatherboard house, I spotted the bird splayed out on top of the wire fence, calling out into the bushland: He has a streaked black head with a robust, downcurved beak, and he’s fanning his broad, intricately patterned wings and tail. He’s big – so big, I […]
Born to Buy?
With Christmas just behind us, household consumption has hit its yearly peak in many countries. Despite the homely pictures of tranquility on mass-produced greeting cards, the fact is that Christmas is more about frenzied shopping and overspending than peace or quality time with family and friends. As with so many areas of our lives, the holidays have been hijacked by the idea that satisfaction, even happiness, is only one more purchase away. Two generations ago, my Norwegian grandmother was overjoyed […]