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The Unlikely Peripatetic, or, A Postscript to the Paperclip
He meets your eye from the book’s broad flyleaf, a vivid figure on a ground of flame blue. Piercing through a quizzical squint and the flash-fixed vapor of a cheeky cigar, the gaze is more forward than one expects from such age. Facing the title page’s monoglyph—Design—the portrait reads like a dare. In a way, it is. A household name in his native UK, Terence … Continue reading The Unlikely Peripatetic, or, A Postscript to the Paperclip
The Flame of Civilization: Fahrenheit 451 and the Preservation of Western Culture
“Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light a such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” An old woman strikes a match and drops it on her kerosene-soaked books while the firemen stare in horror. This is the America promised us in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where the printed book is banned because it … Continue reading The Flame of Civilization: Fahrenheit 451 and the Preservation of Western Culture
Searching for Ted
Sitting down to dinner together last year, my friend Jess asked me the same question we had begun to ask one another each time we met: “Where did you see Ted this week?” Anyone listening to our conversation might assume we were talking about a mutual friend, but that assumption would be wrong. Ted isn’t a friend of ours; in fact, the name doesn’t apply … Continue reading Searching for Ted
Between Earth and Sky: The Physicality of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth
I went wilderness canoe camping for the first time the summer after my tenth birthday; it is family tradition to mark this birthday with a trek to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the northern border of Minnesota. Since that trip, I’ve been up there a handful of times, most recently this last July. My experience in the Boundary Waters resonated with a question … Continue reading Between Earth and Sky: The Physicality of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth
America on the Precipice: Why 2020 Truly is a Seminal Election
“This is the most important election of your lives!” This claim has been repeated almost ad nauseam, to the point of being nearly meaningless. How many times have you heard this in the span of the average election cycle? Perhaps even more revealing is the number of elections you have heard this said about. Because of its frequent usage, this claim likely elicits a skeptical … Continue reading America on the Precipice: Why 2020 Truly is a Seminal Election
Berlioz’s Song: A Brief Dialogue on Love and Wanting
Berlioz’s Song: A Brief Dialogue on Love and Wanting Persons: François-the Cynic, and composer Hector Berlioz-the Romantic The Scene: The deck of a ferry, crossing the English Channel to Britain. January, 1831. THE CYNIC. Pardon me, sir, I don’t mean to interrupt your writing, but are you Hector Berlioz? THE ROMANTIC. Ah, yes, I am. Always a pleasure to meet an admirer, please sit down! … Continue reading Berlioz’s Song: A Brief Dialogue on Love and Wanting
Mythical Samizdat
Mythology has long allowed cultures to connect with and find meaning in their past, encouraged them to work in the present, and taught them to hope for their future. By grounding individuals in their environment and tying them to their community, myth served as the grounding for nearly all cultures and civilizations throughout the Ancient and pre-Modern world. Myth teaches morals, and a civilization without … Continue reading Mythical Samizdat
The Surrender of Plot: Uncovering the Divinity of Storytelling
I stood in the bookstore, gaping at the vibrant colors and whimsical text scrawled across hardcover book jackets. Each book made a pretty picture on the shelf, but after years of book store prowling, I knew that few, if any, offered much beyond aesthetic. I wandered into the classics section and ran my hand along the spines of compendiums, comprehensive volumes, and special editions. What … Continue reading The Surrender of Plot: Uncovering the Divinity of Storytelling
To Conquer a Virus and Unweave a Rainbow
When the recent coronavirus shut-in hit, and the Michigan governor’s stay-at-home order forced its way through my phone by emergency text message, I took one last fleeting look at my campus office bookshelf for any last-minute tome I might bring with me as I escaped to the safety of my country estate. For a moment that old copy of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy looked like … Continue reading To Conquer a Virus and Unweave a Rainbow
Reborn in Wonder: How Belize Re-Taught Me to Love the Liberal Arts
Last August, I moved to Belize to teach humanities at a liberal arts junior college. It would be natural to assume that my decision, coming on the heels of four years of studying history at Hillsdale, arose from my confidence in the value of liberal arts education. That assumption would be wrong. If there’s any message a liberal arts college wants you to believe, it’s … Continue reading Reborn in Wonder: How Belize Re-Taught Me to Love the Liberal Arts
Love and Attention: The Films of Greta Gerwig
In a scene near the beginning of Lady Bird, the heroine argues with her mother on the drive home from visiting colleges. Frustrated by the mundanity of life in 2002 Sacramento, she protests, “I wish I could live through something.” The mother, irritated, replies, “Aren’t you?” The conversation swiftly devolves, ending with Lady Bird throwing herself out of the moving car in dramatic frustration. But … Continue reading Love and Attention: The Films of Greta Gerwig
