Poetry: Ashes and an Arrow

A Brief Disclaimer For the sake of literary analysis, I’m going to discuss Achilles here as if he is one single character. In reality, there are hundreds of Achilles (Achilleses?), as each depiction takes pieces of others, and adds their own additions; all influenced by the author’s own culture and biases. For a deeper dive…

Sapphic Romance in Medieval Islamic Literature

The Islamic Golden Age is known for the explosion of scientific and artistic innovation produced by Muslim communities in the Medieval Era. Not only did this period of inspiration lead to advances in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine, it also saw the blossoming of Islamic literature. Just like many of us, people in the tenth century…

A Crash Course on Ancient Delaware

What comes to mind when you think of prehistoric civilizations in North America? The Aztec pyramids in Mexico? Or maybe the cities carved into stone cliff faces in Colorado? While those are stunning examples of pre-modern architecture (in the most literal sense of the term), there is one region of the continent that is often…