Middleboro Review and so on

  Sunday Pages: "General Order No. 11" The 1868 decree by Gen. John A. Logan that it is the origin of Memorial Day. Greg Olear May 24 Dear Reader, A war by any other name still creates casualties. Whatever euphemism Trump and Hegseth opt to call our military misadventure in Iran, U.S. service members have died as a result of their hubris and their bloodlust. Nothing can undo that. Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is particularly important this year to remember the origin of that holiday and what we are commanded to do to honor it. As General Logan wrote 16 decades ago, “All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders.” That number now includes those who lost their lives in the Middle East since February 28th. I wrote the piece below last year. I’m running it again today, with a few minor updates. May Divine Providence—or God, or Fate, or luck, or whatever you wish to cal...

  Sunday Pages: "Heart of Darkness" A novel by Joseph Conrad Greg Olear May 17 Dear Reader, Friday night, I finally caught the bad cold that’s been making its way through my house for the last two weeks. So I hope you’ll forgive me re-running the below piece, which I think is one of the best “Sunday Pages” dispatches, and one that was written too late to include in  The Age of Unreality . Every piece at PREVAIL is free to read and always will be. No paywalls, ever. Your generous support keeps it that way. Thank you! February 9, 2025 According to the critic Harold Bloom, who would know,  Heart of Darkness , Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novel, is the single most analyzed piece of literature in college English departments the world over. He attributes this to the book’s “unique propensity for ambiguity.” While it is certainly true that Conrad has a flair for the ambiguous, I think the reason is less lofty than Bloom pretends. Having taught creative writing as an adjunct, and thus pr...