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Lisa VanDamme Reads and Discusses “Rizpah,” by Alfred Tennyson

Dec 19, 2018 | Politics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlC2wvqxQc8If you enjoyed this, consider joining Lisa VanDamme's literature group "Read With Me."http://lisavandamme.com/introducing-read-with-me/I.Wailing, wailing, wailing, the wind over land and sea– And Willy’s voice in the wind, ‘O mother, come out to me.’ Why should he call me to-night, when he knows that I cannot go? For the downs are as bright as day, and the full moon stares at the snow.II.We should be seen, my dear; they would spy us out of the town. The loud black nights for us, and the storm rushing over the down, When I cannot see my own hand, but am led by the creak of the chain, And grovel and grope for my son till I find myself drenched with the rain.III.Anything fallen again? nay–what was there left to fall? I have taken them home, I have number’d the bones, I have hidden them all. What am I saying? and what are you? do you come as a spy? Falls? what falls? who knows? As the tree falls so must it lie.IV.Who let her in? how long has she been? you–what have you heard? Why did you sit so quiet? you never have spoken a word. O–to pray with me–yes–a lady–none of their spies– But the night has crept into my heart, and begun to darken my eyes.V.Ah–you, that have lived so soft, what should you know of the night, The blast and the burning shame and the bitter frost and the fright? I have done it, while you were asleep–you were only made for the day. I have gather’d my baby together–and now you may go your way.VI.Nay–for it’s kind of you, Madam, to sit by an old dying wife. But say nothing hard of my boy, I have only an hour of life. I kiss’d my boy in the prison, before he went out to die. ‘They dared me to do it,’ he said, and he never has told me a lie. I whipt him for robbing an orchard once when he was but a child– ‘The farmer dared me to do it,’ he said; he was always so wild– And idle–and couldn’t be idle–my Willy–he never could rest. The King should have made him a soldier, he would have been one of his best.VII.But he lived with a lot of wild mates, and they never would let him be good; They swore that he dare not rob the mail, and he swore that he would; And he took no life, but he took one purse, and when all was done He flung it among his fellows–I’ll none of it, said my son.VIII.I came into court to the Judge and the lawyers. I told them my tale, God’s own truth–but they kill’d him, they kill’d him for robbing the mail. They hang’d him in chains for a show–we had always borne a good name– To be hang’d for a thief–and then put away–isn’t that enough shame? Dust to dust–low down–let us hide! but they set him so high That all the ships of the world could stare at him, passing by. God ’ill pardon the hell-black raven and horrible fowls of the air, But not the black heart of the lawyer who kill’d him and hang’d him there.IX.And the jailer forced me away. I had bid him my last goodbye; They had fasten’d the door of his cell. ‘O mother!’ I heard him cry. I couldn’t get back tho’ I tried, he had something further to say, And now I never shall know it. The jailer forced me away.X.Then since I couldn’t but hear that cry of my boy that was dead, They seized me and shut me up: they fasten’d me down on my bed. ‘Mother, O mother!’–he call’d in the dark to me year after year– They beat me for that, they beat me–you know that I couldn’t but hear; And then at the last they found I had grown so stupid and still They let me abroad again–but the creatures had worked their will.XI.Flesh of my flesh was gone, but bone of my bone was left– I stole them all from the lawyers–and you, will you call it a theft?– My baby, the bones that had suck’d me, the bones that had laughed and had cried– Theirs? O no! they are mine–not theirs–they had moved in my side.XII.Do you think I was scared by the bones? I kiss’d ’em, I buried ’em all– I can’t dig deep, I am old–in the night by the churchyard wall. My Willy ’ill rise up whole when the trumpet of judgment ’ill sound, But I charge you never to say that I laid him in holy ground.XIII.They would scratch him up–they would hang him again on the cursed tree. Sin? O yes–we are sinners, I know–let all that be, And read me a Bible verse of the Lord’s good will toward men– ‘Full of compassion and mercy, the Lord’–let me hear it again; ‘Full of compassion and mercy–long-suffering.’ Yes, O yes! For the lawyer is born but to murder–the Saviour lives but to bless. He’ll never put on the black cap except for the worst of the worst, And the first may be last–I have heard it in church–and the last may be first. Suffering–O long-suffering–yes, as the Lord must know, Year after year in the mist and the wind and the shower and the snow.XIV.Heard, have you? what? they have told you he never repented his sin. How do they know it? are they his mother? are you of his kin? Heard! have you ever heard, when the storm on the downs began, The wind that ’ill wail like a child and the sea that ’ill moan like a man?XV.Election, Election and Reprobation–it’s all very well. But I go to-night to my boy, and I shall not find him in Hell. For I cared so much for my boy that the Lord has look’d into my care, And He means me I’m sure to be happy with Willy, I know not where.XVI.And if he be lost–but to save my soul, that is all your desire: Do you think that I care for my soul if my boy be gone to the fire? I have been with God in the dark–go, go, you may leave me alone– You never have borne a child–you are just as hard as a stone.XVII.Madam, I beg your pardon! I think that you mean to be kind, But I cannot hear what you say for my Willy’s voice in the wind– The snow and the sky so bright–he used but to call in the dark, And he calls to me now from the church and not from the gibbet– for hark! Nay–you can hear it yourself–it is coming–shaking the walls– Willy–the moon’s in a cloud–Good-night. I am going. He calls.

The Best Trade Policy for America: Unilateral Free Trade

Nov 28, 2018 | Politics

Writes Richard Salsman on the Fallout from the Trade Wars | AIER

"Given the benefits of free trade, the best policy any government can adopt is unilateral free trade (with non-enemy governments), which means free trade regardless of whether other governments also adopt freer trade. Tariffs should only be enacted to secure revenues (e.g., to help fund a navy, the merchant marines, or port infrastructure) and should be low and uniform in rate (applied equally to all imports, wherever sourced, not in discriminatory or targeted ways). Better-motivated (pro-trade) nations pursue bilateral or multilateral trade agreements, and although that’s better than “trade wars,” such approaches, in contrast to unilateralism, waste time and invite costly lobbying and cronyism."

To learn why read his entire article Fallout from the Trade Wars.

Lisa VanDamme’s Wonderful Literature Program “Read with Me” is Now Free

Nov 21, 2018 | Politics

From Lisa VanDamme:

I am writing to notify you about two big Read With Me announcements.

The first is that the app is now available free of charge, to eliminate the financial barrier in front of anyone who can't afford it or doesn't understand its value. If you go to the web app, or download the app for iPhone or Android, you will have immediate access to the full library of works, including Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris and Ninety Three, Sinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith, Tolstoy's Kreutzer Sonata, and more.

The second is that on December 2nd, a week from Sunday, I will begin leading readers through Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. If you'd like to join me and other members on this literary journey, now is the perfect time to download the app.

Dostoevsky said of his faith, “My hosanna has passed through a great crucible of doubt.” I believe it is that crucible – that fathomless depth and merciless rigor of thought, that unyielding determination to leave no psychological stone unturned, that intensity of moral ambition – that makes Dostoevsky required reading for everyone, believers and non-believers alike.

Too often, we adopt our own convictions with unthinking ease, rather than subjecting them to a crucible. My goal in starting Read With Me was to create a community of readers and accompany them on a journey through great works of literature that will challenge, deepen, and expand our outlook on life. Dostoevsky will.

As I said, anyone and everyone can now try Read With Me, because there is no longer a required subscription fee. I am a zealot on a literary mission, determined to show people what they stand to gain when they crack the pages of musty, old, beautiful, timeless books. Those who enjoy, and can afford, and want to support the existence of this program can become voluntary $10/month subscribers through Patreon.

I am not a professional actor. I am not a literary scholar. What I am is a sincere reader and a passionate lover of literature. You can think of the Read With Me app as providing you a book-loving friend in your pocket, always happy to read to you from my heart and to share with you what fascinates me about what we are reading.

Try Read With Me. Share it with the would-be readers in your life. Make literature part of your life.

https://readwithmebookgroup.com

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