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Jeffrey Bilbro

Articles by Jeffrey Bilbro

Civilization, Family, and Charity

“Against Christian Civilization.” Paul Kingsnorth’s Erasmus Lecture is now out in essay form: “I believe there is wisdom to be found for us, in this disintegrating age, not in crusading…
Jeffrey Bilbro
December 14, 2024

Wheeler Catlett, the Study, and Democracy

“The Berry Center Journal.” The fall issue of the Berry Center Journal includes an opening letter from Mary Berry, a 1989 speech by John M. Berry Jr., and more, including…

Local Sports, Being Homeless, and the Reading Wars

"An Education in Thanksgiving." Rachel Alexander Cambre gives a very perceptive reading of Hannah Coulter: "Stories that bring the past to life, on the other hand, pass down memories of…
Jeffrey Bilbro
November 30, 2024

RFK Jr., Hunting, and Prison

“The Moses Option.” Paul Kingsnorth writes against the dangerous allure of activism: “What is the ‘solution’ to our modern ‘problem’? For a start, it is to stop thinking like that,…
Jeffrey Bilbro
November 23, 2024

Grimsby, Bureaucracy, and Brave New World

“Left Behind in Grimsby.” Simon Cross narrates the tensions he experienced ministering in a neighborhood where he wasn’t stuck: “There’s a feeling of inadequacy that comes with knowing how little…
Jeffrey Bilbro
November 16, 2024

Syncretism, Saints, and Childhood

“Against Syncretism, For Christians Building Like Christians.” Jake Meador provides a good summary of and response to Paul Kingsnorth’s recent lecture: “Bucer's measure of judging a Christian society was not…

Dinosaurs, Screens, and Symbols

“Dinner with Dinosaurs.” In a wide-ranging and probing essay, Lauren Spohn considers what kind of narrative we need to motivate human action and guide our technological and cultural project: “It’s…

Voting for a President Won’t Save the Republic

A democracy is not kept by filling in a ballot bubble once every four years. It’s kept by responsibly and virtuously exercising our freedoms in our homes, communities, and institutions…
Jeffrey Bilbro
October 30, 2024

Boethius, History, and Charm

“Love Letter to America.” A.M. Hickman takes a hard look at America’s many dysfunctions: “Then the realization sinks in like news of a dear old friend’s death: There beneath the…

Ducks, Hitler, and Gridlock

“The Place of Tides by James Rebanks Review—Ducking Out of a Midlife Crisis.” Helen Davies praises Rebanks’s “quietly profound book. It is a story about a still-essential way of living…

2025 Front Porch Republic Student Essay Contest

We're announcing a student essay contest! If you're a student, consider submitting an essay, and if you know any students, encourage them to apply. Students are invited to respond either…
Jeffrey Bilbro
October 18, 2024

Children, Pawpaws, and Ticks

“Against Killing Children.” In a new essay, Wendell Berry speaks against the violence on which our machine age runs and invites us to imagine an alternative way of relating to…

FPR Conference Ideas?

As we make plans for next year's conference, we're inviting input from Porchers regarding what you might value in upcoming gatherings. Whether you're a regular FPR conference attendee or haven't…
Jeffrey Bilbro
October 9, 2024

Civility in Grand Rapids

Thanks to all who joined us for a wonderful gathering in Grand Rapids last weekend. On Friday evening, Jeff Polet and Ross Douthat conversed about populism, Lasch, and American presidential…
Jeffrey Bilbro
October 8, 2024

Berry, MacIntyre, and Screens

“News from the Berry Center.” The Berry Center fall newsletter provides updates on their ongoing work, and Mary Berry’s opening letter serves as a good reminder of their vision for…
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 28, 2024

Work, Repair, and Reading

“In Defiance of All Powers.” Peter Mommsen introduces Plough’s new issue on Freedom. It looks quite promising, but my physical copy hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m exercising restraint: “as my…
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 21, 2024

TN BBQ with FPR and DO Friends

Brian Miller (author of Kayaking with Lambs) is hosting a BBQ at his farm outside Philadelphia, TN with some Doomer Optimism friends. They'll be gathering Sept. 28 from 6-10. Guests…
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 19, 2024

Twenty-Six Theses on Textual Technologies

Language is primarily a relational (rather than a representational) technology. Words articulate our relationships to God, other humans, our environment, and even ourselves.
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 16, 2024

Cheese, Solidarity, and Tradwives

“How a Vermont Cheesemaker Helps Local Farms Thrive.” The essay up on FPR’s front page right now by Lenny Wells describes some possibilities for small farmers to find a “seam”…
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 14, 2024

Contaminated Farms, Individualism, and Art

“Twelve Months to Fall Back in Love with America.” Anarchist, hobo, Coast Guardsman, Catholic, Front Porch Republic conference-goer, and now newlywed A.M. Hickman is traveling America with his wife Keturah…
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 7, 2024

Volunteering, Urban Farms, and Grocery Stores

We’ve now posted the FPR conference schedule. Based on feedback from recent conferences, we've built a bit more elbow room into the schedule to allow for more mingling and discussion.…

Contrary U, New Verse Review, and Vinyl Records

“Captive Users.” Alexander Stern pens a thoughtful review essay that puts Cory Doctorow’s The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation in conversation with Antón Barba-Kay’s A Web…

Nisbet, Fact-Checking, and Leopold

“Robert Nisbet for the Present Age.” Kirstin Birkhaug describes the experience of teaching Robert Nisbet’s The Present Age and watching her students respond to his analysis of America’s twinned statism…

Wendell Berry, the Pioneer Fire, and Idols

“‘Your Friend, Wendell’: A 90th Birthday Tribute to Wendell Berry.” To mark Wendell Berry’s 90th birthday, The Library of America published a set of reflections by several of the people…