Theme for September 23rd – Chastity – and you thought it was simple!

The virtue of temperance has historically encompassed a wide range of activities – after all, it “simply” means moderation via personal restraint or will. Although associated in modern parlance with food and drink, in particular alcohol, last week’s poems decided to look at temperance as it applies to less calorie-laden subjects: in speech and in modifying self-doubt
 
Chastity is another virtue that has been reduced to a sound bite in the modern day, but was historically much more complex. Chastity today seems to revolve around sexual activity, and if the news is any indication, contemporary conversations about chastity focus on teenagers and pre-marital sex.
 

Continue reading “Theme for September 23rd – Chastity – and you thought it was simple!”

Vices and Virtues – Inspiration

nauman

Since we have switched to virtues for the poetry theme, I thought I would put up a little neon art inspiration. Pretty much every day for six years I walked by Bruce Nauman’s Vices and Virtues public art installation at the University of California, San Diego – in the evening you can see it from miles around in La Jolla and UTC. How it merges the sins and virtues is almost like an ink blot test – when the “Faith” and “Lust” neon would light up together, I would see “Flauta” and it would make me crave Mexican food.