Articles Archive
FPR Conference: Save the Date!
The 2014 FPR conference will on September 27 in Louisville, KY. Wendell Berry will deliver the keynote address. More details to come, but this is shaping up to be a…
Localist Roundup: Atlantic-Heavy Roundup
According to this piece, the White House has received a petition to "abolish the capitalist mode of production." Meanwhile, Los Angles experiments with preset park kits. In this article, an…
In the Heart of the Empire, a Tiny Garden Grew
This wonderful essay--a sad, reflective, but also hopeful one--tells the story of Michelle Obama's long forgotten (by most people, anyway) backyard garden initiative, and the local farmer (the father of…
Localist Roundup: Community Garden
This article bemoans the modern teenager's inability to engage in conversation. Meanwhile, this piece describes a community garden effort in Wisconsin. This article tries to explain why large corporations fail…
How Equality Makes Us Better (and Stupid)
Hidden Springs Lane. The concept of equality lies at the heart of the American system. School children learn by heart (or used to) those memorable lines from the Declaration of…
Dollarocracy: Money-Power, Media-Framed Elections and Inequality
When searching for semi-precious stones, one must at times loosen jewels from the mineral deposits in which they’re locked. This consideration applies to books as well as nature’s treasures. One…
Daddy, Why are There Flowers?
I pride myself on answering questions. As a teacher I have the opportunity to answer many, and I try to do so with precision and completeness. But some questions are…
On the Nightstand this Week: Lear
A good recent Louisville production of King Lear sent me back to my handily small Yale edition to reread this most poignant of Shakespeare's tragedies. Its title character is the…
Localist Roundup: Alienation of Labor
This piece talks about the trend towards urban beekeeping, specifically in London. Meanwhile, this article worries about the shortage of farmers in America. At the same time, food prices are…
Lecture at Hope
West Michiganders: Michael Federici of Mercyhurst University will be lecturing on Hope's campus in the auditorium of the Martha Miller Center (10th and Columbia) this Thursday, April 17, on the…
What Do You Feel Like Doing Tonight, Angie?
Let's rent (or buy!) Copperhead, which is being released today on DVD/BluRay.
Jesse Winchester, Southern Regionalist, RIP
Jesse Winchester, a tuneful poet from a small corner of southern America who had to flee America--at a time when it was going through one of its more invasively imperial…
Hemp, Hemp, Hooray!
From the perspective of a patriotic American who’s just researched hemp’s potential from Canada to Hawaii, Germany to Colorado, things are moving from fantasy to reality so quickly that it’s…
Localist Roundup: The Politics of Sprawl
This article makes an interesting connection between place and politics. Specifically, it claims that sprawling cities favor Republican politics, while compact cities favor Democrat ideas. Meanwhile, this piece examines an…
Irish Spring (’14 Issue)
From Notre Dame Magazine, the always excellent Jay Walljasper on the promise of the Front Porch.
Fathers and Sons, and Gardens
“The land provides the greatest abundance of good things, but doesn’t allow them to be taken without effort.” “Furthermore, the land also freely teaches justice to those who are capable…
Localist Roundup: Greed and Greens
This article attempts to trace the history and acceptability of greed. Meanwhile, this piece give an interesting perspective on the lack of moral framework faced by younger generations in today's…
Despair, Delight, and the Decentered Self
Berwyn, PA. The Fine Delight Interview Series with Catholic authors, conducted by the author of the book of the same name, Nick Ripatrazone, has just posted its latest interview --…
The Berry Center at Work
Mary Berry (Wendell's daughter, and an occasional contributor here) has founded The Berry Center to continue her family's work to buttress the economic well-being of small farmers, and the organization has pushed…
The Berry Center at Work
Mary Berry (Wendell's daughter, and an occasional contributor here) has founded The Berry Center to continue her family's work to buttress the economic well-being of small farmers, and the organization has pushed…
Equality and the Culture of Perpetual Offense
Hidden Springs Lane. Rod Dreher has recently been pointing out (for example here) the various ways that those who voice public opposition to certain positions (especially gay marriage) are routinely…
More on Distributism
This week in The Week, Michael Brendan Dougherty has a piece titled "The Conservative Case Against Capitalism." Relying on Belloc's An Essay on the Restoration of Property, Dougherty argues that…