Short 494
Lukacs, Tarkington, and Place-Based Policies
“Remembering John Lukacs: Ode to an Academic Outsider.” Will Hoyt remembers the life and writings of one of the great historians and writers of the twentieth century. “The Magnificent Tarkington.”…
The Pleasures of Eating, Romano Guardini, and the Two-Income Trap
“The Pleasures of Eating.” Emergence Magazine published a beautifully illustrated version of Wendell Berry’s classic essay with a preface by Alice Waters. Even if you know this essay well, it’s worth taking…
Yokels, John Wesley Powell, and Packaged Pleasures
“Sneering at the Yokels in the Age of Trump.” Jeff Polet contrasts two different ways of writing the elites-from-the-coasts-come-to-the-heartland-to-find-out-why-these-weirdos-voted-for-Trump essay. Some do this poorly, others do it well: Bourdain allowed…
Lasch, Old Country Stores, and Intelligent Trees
“Eric Miller on Christopher Lasch and Wendell Berry.” Elias Crim and Pete Davis talk with Eric Miller about two of FPR’s guiding lights, and they also share their reflections on…
China, Monopolies, and Logging
“Hawley to Introduce Bill to Move Federal Agencies out of Washington D.C. to Economically Stagnant Areas.” Jack Crowe outlines Josh Hawley’s new proposal. It sounds like Senator Hawley has been…
Friends, Cattle Markets, and a Luddite Revolution
Plough Quarterly: Vocation. The new issue of Plough has several good pieces on the meaning and value of work. One of my favorites is the interview with Mike Rowe. “Why You Never See…
Jones, Hurston, and Newman
“‘These Global Days.’” Adam Schwartz reviews the newly published The Grail Mass and Other Works, by David Jones. It conveys Jones’s critique of empire and globalism: “It was modern imperialism’s lethal…
GMOs, Bad Ag Secretaries, and Economic Growth
“The Case Against GMOs: Cautionary Tales From Uganda.” With biting wit, Mary Serumaga argues that legislation to introduce GMOs to Uganda is being driven by foreign investors rather than local…
Wendell Berry Conference Videos
Video recordings from our 2019 conference on the legacy of Wendell Berry are now online. We hope those of you who weren't able to join us in the flesh will…
Ellul, Land of Hope, and Opting Out
“Book Review: The Household and the War for the Cosmos by C. R. Wiley.” Jake Meador reviews The Household and the War for the Cosmos by C. R. Wiley, in which Wiley argues that…
Holy Warriors, Brain Gain, and Children and Climate Change
Several people have written reflections on last week’s conference. If you weren’t able to make it, you can read what Russell Arben Fox and Scott Richert made of the gathering. “Academia’s Holy Warriors.” Jon…
“Be Happy!”–Thanks for an Excellent Gathering
Thanks to all who came to Louisville this weekend for our annual conference. We had about 300 people join us for the day, making this the largest FPR conference yet.…
Berry’s Dissent, Procreation, and Rotten STEM
“A Shared Place: Wendell Berry’s Lifelong Dissent.” Jedediah Britton-Purdy writes a long and thoughtful review of Berry’s essays and body of thought. He avoids many of the lazy critiques of…
Support Local Culture: A Journal of the Front Porch Republic
The Front Porch Republic is launching a print journal! We've set up a GoFundMe campaign to help support this project. Please consider contributing to fund production costs and to join…
Homesickness, Landscape of Despair, and Mass Barbecue
“Wayfaring in America.” Brian Smith reviews The American Road Trip and American Political Thought, by Susan McWilliams Barndt—a book that reflects on what Americans’ fondness for travel narratives suggests about our…
George Herbert, Simone Weil, and Front Porches
“What a Famous Poet Can Teach Rural Pastors.” Stephen Witmer looks at George Herbert’s classic and asks, “what if we were to read Country Parson for its original purpose: as a guide…
Educating Nones, Water, and Killing Umps
“5 Questions with Gracy Olmstead.” Gracy Olmstead talks about rural communities, seasonal rhythms, and more. “Inhabiting Memories and Landscapes.” Brecon Cathedral in Wales is hosting a conference next summer on…
Air Conditioning, Modern Friendship, and Rooftop Farming
“The Great Land Robbery.” In the Atlantic, Vann R. Newkirk II narrates a tragic story about black land ownership in the Mississippi Delta. Between racist lending practices, global commodity markets,…
Addictive Technology, Land Use, and Saving the Amazon
Most of my reading time this week went to poring over proofs for the first issue of the FPR print journal. We should have copies fresh from the press at…
Beyond Capitalism, National Conservatism, and Millennial Nuns
“Going Home with Wendell Berry.” Amanda Petrusich corresponded with Berry and then spent two days in Port Royal continuing their conversation. The result is a rich and wise conversation in…
Convenience, Abortion, and Friendship
I’ll be taking a break from the internet for a couple of weeks to recreate (and to get some writing done). I’m not sure when I’ll resume these weekly Water…
Plastic, Local Feasting, and Family Farms
“Book Review: Dignity by Chris Arnade.” Jake Meador uses Patrick Deneen’s recent work to frame a reading of Arnade’s photographs and stories. In a book that does not shy away…
Pelagians, Lithium Mines, and Progressive Occultism
“The Politics of Dystopia.” Ross Douthat seems to be thinking about Deneen’s book these days: “On right and left, it has become easier to imagine ways the liberal order might…
“Free America,” Work Colleges, and Seeds
“The Small and the Human, and ‘Free America’.” The University Bookman ran an excerpt from Allan C. Carlson’s forthcoming book, Land, True Liberty & Democracy: The Story of ‘Free America.’ It narrates the story…