Dear Reader, An experienced journalist from the Washington Examiner once said, “Nobody reads the Letter from the Editor but your mom.” Taking this advice to heart, I have decided to break the mold and go wild. Instead of trying to contrive an imaginary theme for this issue, let’s talk about coffee. You are not a wimp for liking milk in your coffee. Sure, the strong, … Continue reading Letter from the Editor | Issue #46
Oh cruel heav’n and earth, You nurture me ‘til this dayTo wither and die. — Yaozhu “Charlie” Cheng (junior, history) Lonely little bird, Don’t despair the dark of night. Wait; the dawn will come. — Olivia Finch (junior, English and classics) Give me wisdom now Not in broken retrospect Honey on a burn — Avery Nowowiejski (junior, Spanish and English) Autumn Death without pity Life renews itself, ending, Changing, leaf by leaf — Emma Wilkson (junior, English … Continue reading Issue #46: short poetry
by David Cathel One day over the past summer I saw a book that had been reviewed as a “must-read.” At that time, I wondered whether that book was more necessary to read than any of the Shakespeare plays I have thus far neglected, Plato’s dialogues, or the Aeneid, or any other number of excellent works that I have not yet taken the time to … Continue reading The Importance of a Literary Canon
by Katrin Surkan She lifts the tray gently from the hot stove, careful not to burn her fingertips through the potholder she crocheted in college. Her seven-year-old comes sneaking over to snatch a fresh cookie, drawn by the smell of chocolate chips permeating the house. The tea kettle whistles just as her husband walks in the door with a sigh. He thumps his satchel down … Continue reading Nature and Nurture: Musings on Womanhood
by Rooks Russell “What is called affection is really nothing but habitual sympathy…The general rule is established, that persons related to one another in a certain degree, ought always to be affected towards one another in a certain manner, and that there is always the highest impropriety, and sometimes even a sort of impiety, in their being affected in a different manner. A parent without … Continue reading The Creature
by Anna Bromm Jedidiah Vesper awoke but did not open his eyes. Jedidiah Vesper awoke but did not open his eyes. He was lying on hard cobbles, and a faint breeze carried the smell of meat and bread and the sound of raucous laughter. He forced his lids open, rubbing the sleep from them, and sat up. Across the cobblestone road, a few men looked … Continue reading The Angel of Death
by Clare Horvath Before I went to Rome this summer, I had heard that Europeans tend to dress more formally than Americans, so I wasn’t too surprised when I found that to be the case. What I didn’t expect, however, was how much my summer would prompt me to think about how one ought to dress. In most of the churches I visited in Rome … Continue reading Dress for the Occasion
by Jameson Payne There is a specter haunting Michigan—haunting the whole world. One by one, our venerable institutions topple, swept away by the tide of hubristic reformers, new-fangled utopians, and latter-day fanatics. Harvard has fallen to the Bolshevists, Yale to the Hegelians, Berkeley to the Gnostics. The situation is grim. But, it is in being a solitary light within this dark that Hillsdale finds its … Continue reading A Humble Suggestion
by Aidan Jones Among my many pet peeves is when self-proclaimed “artistic types” scoff at the great artistic achievements of our ancestors. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” they snort, scorning a simple pastoral painting in favor of a meaningless combination of colors that some tortured soul was inspired to plaster across a canvas. They grin determinedly through an atonal opera, explaining that … Continue reading Beauty for the Common Man
retrospect (re-truh-spekt) verb 1. (without object) to look back in thought; refer back (often followed by “to”) 2. (with object) to look back upon; contemplate The end of another semester is upon us and with it comes the call to look back and contemplate the semester — the lessons learned, the conversations had, and the friendships deepened. The Forum also calls for retrospection. Whether on … Continue reading Letter from the Editor | Issue #45
Hillsdale Forum 