is to be able to hear wonderful lunchtime presentations by fellow faculty members across the curriculum. Today, retiring English Professor John Rosenwald (co-editor of the Beloit Poetry Journal) read ten poems. All were beautiful, but "Declaration" by the Chinese poet Bei Dao really struck me because of its pro-freedom message. I could not find a copy on-line, but it is well worth the effort to look up.

Two of my favorite parts:

I'm no hero
In an age without heroes
I just want to be a man

Bullet holes are like stars:
From them flows the blood-red dawn