Author: Mac MacDaniel

About a year ago I joined another book club-esque study group, called the “ShakesNerds.” We meet weekly via videochat and read the plays, line by line, and discuss as we go. It’s a slow process — we’ve only read three plays in the last year — but it enables us to really do a deep dive into the words.

Most weeks, I gain some new insight into a line or a character, either because my brain latches onto a bit of text that I had previously glossed over, or because someone says something in the discussion that is enlightening. In the interest both of retaining these new insights and getting back into the habit of writing more frequently, I’ve decided to start writing short essays on the little gems that I’ve been graced with.

High school English teachers are incredible people. They are the ultimate humanists, trying to keep the flame of civilization alive in the face of educational systems and governments convinced that the humanities are disposable and the only “real” education is in inventing, building, and programming various machines. They dragged you, kicking and screaming, through some…

In just over a year, two very dear friends of mine passed away, and I wanted to say something not just about them, but about a trait that they shared. I wanted to say something in general about the kind of friend they were, the type of love they offered, the shared character of their…