Mr. Locke’s Classroom

When I left teaching behind several years ago, I made a commitment to myself not to leave Shakespeare behind as well.  Shortly afterward, I successfully auditioned for and then played the role of Friar Laurence in a Frisco Community Theater production of Romeo and Juliet.  So when I arrived here in Princeton, and was told [...]

This morning, when my three-year-old son, Grady, came stumbling sleep-eyed into our bedroom, he said something interesting: “Dad, I dreamed about space last night.” How could he have possibly known that while he slept, Arthur C. Clarke, the man who taught the world to dream about space, passed away? If you’re not into science fiction, [...]

Three years ago, when Grady was born, I made him a promise. One week ago, when Abby was born, I made the same promise to her:  to read to her every night of her life, until she’s old enough to read on her own, and then we’ll read together — sometimes I’ll still read to [...]

In the interest of disclosure, I should admit up front that I am unquestionably biased when it comes to my fondness for the Beowulf Epic. I have studied it extensively, been inspired by it, and taught it as well. It’s a powerful story, and I am convinced it will continue to be told for the [...]

Tonight I am proud, happy, and a little sad. Grady and I turned the last page on a novel we’ve been reading together by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Children of Hurin. As novels go, it’s short — 257 pages — but it is a novel, written in language that is not “kid friendly” nor even that [...]

Last night I finally took Amy to see Stardust, one of my favorite films this year. I’d seen the trailer for the new Beowulf movie before, but for some reason last night I really started thinking about it for the first time. I taught Beowulf to high school freshmen for many years, and have a [...]

Yesterday I was having a Samson moment. Because of some stuff happening in my life right now, I was feeling shorn of power, shorn of favor, and shorn of identity. Like Samson, it was mostly a situation brought on by my own arrogance and/or stupidity, but also like Samson, there was a certain amount of [...]