Articles By: Tim Bartel
Timothy E. Bartel is a husband, writer, and educator. He teaches literature, philosophy and theology at Torrey Academy, and critical thinking and writing at Biola University. A graduate of the philosophy program at Biola University and a member of the Torrey Honors Institute, Timothy is also a student at Seattle Pacific University where he is completing his Masters of Fine Arts in poetry. Timothy writes poetry, essays, and drama and enjoys cycling, jazz, contemporary folk-rock, and the theater.
Hey Critics, Dig a Little Deeper!
[Warning: Mild Spoilers]
If I read one more race-focused review of The Princess and the Frog I’m going to gag. The Princess and the Frog is not about race, any more than the Little Mermaid is about flippers or Aladdin is about fezzes. Yes, it’s true that Disney’s latest 2-D animated film features...
January 20th, 2010 | Film, Media | Read More
Conservative Aesthetics?
Recently Matthew Milliner posted a challenging essay on conservatives and the arts that is well worth a read. In it, he compares America to the Greek city of Mistra, the last stronghold of eastern Christendom within which many artists and poets were creating lasting masterpieces which “some called...
September 7th, 2009 | Art & Literature, Conservative/Liberal, Culture, Other, Religion | Read More
On Harry Potter and “How You See It”
In a recent conversation with my friend Sally about Harry Potter, I had just commented on the Christian significance of Harry’s many “death and resurrection” experiences throughout the story, when she replied: “Well, that’s how you see it, but that’s not necessarily what someone else might...
September 2nd, 2009 | Art & Literature, Philosophy | Read More
The Trouble with Poetry
How do you “teach” a poem? As with every worthwhile text, to lecture is not enough, nor is it the most appropriate way, to teach a poem; rather, the poem must be discussed. Yet often when teachers ask students: “What does this poem mean?” blank stares and silence follow. Sometimes, a...
August 17th, 2009 | Art & Literature, Education | Read More
On A Belated Birthday
February 27, 2007 marked the bicentenary of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s birth, and since the early years of this decade, a handful of vocal scholars have been celebrating, hoping that American culture will join the party. In 2004, Charles Calhoun published the first new biography of the New...
August 7th, 2009 | Art & Literature, Other | Read More
Book Review: The Modern Element
When 21st century readers encounter T.S. Eliot’s famous poem, “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” they often call the poem “selfish,” “obsessed,” and “fragmented.” What readers sense in Eliot has come to be called “modernism” and was the poetic movement that largely defined the...
August 4th, 2009 | Book Reviews | Read More
