Culture, High & Low

C’mon Do the Pomocomotion With Me

A few impressions on the state of play. 1.  Agree with JMW that this exchange has not been very helpful, and reiterate first thought that...

Can’t Buy Me Love

The folks at First Things have been kind enough to ignore my lame punning and respond to some of my criticisms, which has resulted...

The Alternative Tradition in America

Alexandria, VA Since Caleb has posted his lecture from a legendary conference a few years ago that a number of future Front Porchers attended...

The Peasantry of the Future

Irving, TX. In answer to the question, “What do the poor want?” Simone Weil replied “They want you to look at them.” I...

The New Prohibitionists

JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS.  Something is not right on The Porch.  But on my porch, things are just dandy, so smoke 'em if you got...

Shop Class and the Romantic Mode of Politics

It goes without saying that Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft is compelling.  Discussed on NPR, profiled in The New York Times and The...

Gumbo as Soul Craft

When I read “Shop Class As Soulcraft,” I initially felt like a twerp. I’m the guy who was raised in the country by a...

Lookin’ Out My Back Door; Or Sounds From Boo Radley’s Porch

BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY---Caleb has proposed this beautiful rendition of “Our Town” by Iris DeMent as the Front Porch theme song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikZwgj89HI (Anyone not moved by it...

Hospitality and the Hopi: Fragmentation and Hope

“Pray for the foothills,/goatherds and windmills/and satellite dishes” – Mark Heard Cincinnati, OH. A comment on my recent post on Hopi hospitality referred to “…satellite...

Can Health Care Be Local?

Wichita, KS Over the past couple of weeks, I've written a few things on the current debate over health care reform. A couple of smart...