In Impromptus today, I begin with Gaza — “We’ll own it,” President Trump says — and end with Paul Plishka, the basso who died earlier this week at 83. In between, sundry issues, foreign and domestic. To read this column, go here.

Last week, I had a column about Mark Van Doren and his teachings about Shakespeare. Van Doren was a legend at Columbia University. A reader writes,

Mr. Nordlinger:

Professor Van Doren was well before my time — but at least I got a B-minus from Professor Tayler, in his Shakespeare class — a high honor.

Our correspondent includes a link to an appreciation of Edward Tayler by David Lehman: here. What a stunning teacher, Tayler. Stunning.

In a post, I published a letter about Mark Van Doren and his student — later friend — Thomas Merton. Merton would become a Trappist monk, living at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Ky. A reader writes,

Morning, Jay,

. . . Have you ever been? Every October I head down to Bardstown (I believe they style themselves the most charming small town in the U.S.) to hang out with a friend and visit the Bourbon Trail. We stay south of Bardstown, about a mile from the Abbey. I always make it a point to visit Gethsemani and then, on the drive home, Saint Meinrad Archabbey [in Spencer County, Ind.]. . . .

If you have never been to that part of the U.S., it might be worth a trip. Close to Meinrad is the West Baden Springs Hotel. It’s one of those grand, old American resorts: a hotel-in-the-round. Once, it was the largest domed structure in the U.S. It’s not quite on the same scale as, say, the Grand Hotel in the U.P. [the Upper Peninsula of Michigan], but it has that vibe.

A dear and beloved reader writes,

Classic literature is a funny thing. Today’s readers are so spoiled. We expect a book to grab us from the start, and if it doesn’t, we aren’t interested. Classic literature, at least much of it, starts slow. It can take some perseverance to get into. I remember reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. I almost put it down, but I persevered. The reward was that, when I reached the end, I felt like I was waking from a dream. I was slightly stunned that the book was over — because it had pulled me into the world of the author’s creating and wholly immersed me.

An old colleague alerts me to a book by Stephen Schryer, a professor of English at the University of New Brunswick. It is called “National Review’s Literary Network.” As the title indicates, it explores the literary side of National Review — John Dos Passos, Hugh Kenner, Joan Didion, D. Keith Mano, and many more.

Good to know.

In my Impromptus on Monday, I wrote,

I wish to recommend an essay by Eliot A. Cohen — it can teach you something essential (whether you want to know it or not): “The U.S. Needs Soldiers, Not Warriors.”

A dear friend, and veteran, writes,

Jay,

When I hear the word “warrior,” I know the bullsh**’s getting deep.

I’ve been a soldier and have done a soldier’s job for a soldier’s pay. I know what a soldier is.

My thanks to one and all.