Author Archives: Santi Tafarella

About Santi Tafarella

I teach writing and literature at Antelope Valley College in California.

Trump’s New Cancel Culture: Cancelling Black Voters

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

Talk about cancel culture! Trump wants to cancel black voters, en masse. And so Jim Jonesy! As Trump flames out, his disordered thought, paranoia, racism, and authoritarianism are converging. He won’t be president on January 20th because Black citizens–13% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

A Meditation Explainer for Poets and Environmentalists

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

As an English professor who is also active in the environmental movement, organizing an annual environmental conference at my college, I thought it would be productive to write out to myself what I think meditation is in relation to the … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, atomism, beauty, Darwin, david hume, Emerson, feminism, God, Lucretius, meditation, philosophy, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | 8 Comments

Late Night Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020 (a poem-prophecy in which I predict the election result for those with ears to hear)

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

LATE NIGHT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD, 2020 I. Yeats has a question, and I just love Barbara Stanwyck, don’t you? So the first thing I’m getting is this: White is the color of loose saints’ robes and of atheism, and blue-white … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, beauty, climate change, coronavirus, donald trump, meditation, poetry, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

No Dogs in Heaven (A Coronavirus Poem)

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

NO DOGS IN HEAVEN It’s their morning walk; one shall be taken. He’s masked, she’s not. They match in sweaters. He is black, but time has made him blue and atheist. She is bleach white, a poodle. Reaching the porch … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, atomism, beauty, coronavirus, donald trump, God, Lucretius, philosophy, poetry, reason, rhetoric, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

The Religion Tree (a poem)

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

THE RELIGION TREE I. The leaf doesn’t fall far from the tree, and we are all leaves on the same tree, and will take our leave from here. II. The yellow leaf signals fall, the green leaf, pride before the fall. … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, beauty, critical thinking, Genesis, God, meditation, philosophy, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

Spring, without God (a poem)

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Santi Tafarella

SPRING, WITHOUT GOD   God gave me a rose, And God is love. The rose made me   Sneeze, and I have Asthma. The rose Landed   Me in hospital, Which can’t be right If God is love   And … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, beauty, critical thinking, Darwin, God, Lucretius, meditation, philosophy, poetry, reason, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Woke Fanatics? Essentialists vs. Nominalists

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Santi Tafarella

What’s a fanatic, exactly? The well-known Catholic essentialist philosopher Edward Feser, in a recent post at his blog, points to feminist philosophers like Kathleen Stock, Holly Lawford-Smith, and Julie Bindel as “woke fanatics,” but what is a fanatic, exactly, but someone … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, Darwin, edward feser, feminism, philosophy, poetry, reason, rhetoric, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.10: Emerson’s “Circles”

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Santi Tafarella

Eye and horizon. Below are a few excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s (1803-1882) essay, “Circles” (1841). In the essay, he likens the writer’s vision and imagination to something like an onion, layer overlaying layer. Each moment the eye is overlaid with a new horizon or … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, beauty, critical thinking, Darwin, education, Emerson, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.9: Imitation And Emulation With An Eye On Competition

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

Concept 2.9. Imitation and emulation with an eye on competition. The ancient Greek teacher Longinus is among the first thinkers to address what would become a recurrent theme in the history of writing, and most especially, literary criticism: the sublime … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, atomism, critical thinking, donald trump, education, edward feser, God, Hegel, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.8: Selection And Editing

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, Darwin, education, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.7: Audience And Rhetorical Strategy

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, donald trump, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.6: Moving From First Sentence To Thesis

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in critical thinking, education, reason, rhetoric, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course in Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.16: Thinking Critically About Beauty, Art, And Literature

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, atomism, beauty, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, meditation, philosophy, poetry, reason, rhetoric, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.15: Know Where You’re Entering The Intellectual Conversation

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.13: The Committed Writer

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, david hume, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.14: Binomial Definition

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.12: The Spell-Casting Mystifier

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, donald trump, education, edward feser, hillary clinton, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.11: The Writerly Persona Of The Critical Thinker

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.5: Genre

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in critical thinking, education, reason, rhetoric, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.4: Thesis

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Santi Tafarella

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading →

Posted in critical thinking, education, reason, rhetoric, writing | Leave a comment