Don’t Miss This Book
Front Porcher Rob Grano has a lovely little review of John Lewis-Stempel's The Running Hare: The Secret Life of Farmland. It's over...
An Ordinary Life and the Pitfalls of Greatness
I will confess that when J. Arthur Bloom announced he was joining Front Porch Republic’s editorial team, I had not heard of it. So...
Everything I Ever Learned About Civility I Learned in a Small...
For instruction in civilization, nothing beats a small town.
Praying in the Streets: Ritual as an Urban Design Problem
"he city as World icon is being destroyed, not by being secularized (it was always secular at base with some sacral potencies shooting through...
Cabrini Dreams
“You go two blocks one way, you're in public housing. You go two blocks the other way, you're at Banana Republic."
The Seer: Seeing Through Wendell Berry’s Eyes
Laura Dunn’s The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry (later retitled Look & See) begins with the blurred lights of cars speeding along freeways and the...
Sewers and Leashes: A Local Story
Hillsdale, MI. This is a true story. It happened once upon a time in a place I do not now live.
After an arduous...
Regionalism in the NY Times
While the pickings are generally slim, the NYTimes can sometimes reveal a glimmer of localism, at least in the only section worth reading, the...
The Founding Gardeners
I’ve just finished Andrea Wulf’s beguiling book entitled “ Founding Gardeners, The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation”. Published this...
Thoughts on Localism and Resilience
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the "Resilience Group," an informal gathering of environmentalists, activists, and interested others that meet regularly at...