The Water Dipper 329
Mourning, Coffeehouses, and Water
“The Work of Mourning.” Roger Scruton probes the necessity and value of mourning with his characteristic range and insight: “Until the work of mourning has been accomplished, Freud argued, new…
Property, Work, and Hillbilly Thomists
Have you registered for our fall conference taking place in two weeks at Grove City College? Registration closes on the 17th, so don't delay! We haven't held a conference since…
Love, Landmarks, and Chestnuts
“Can Love Take Sides?” The new issue of Plough is full of worthwhile essays, but Porchers will want to start with this essay by Wendell Berry. It’s an excerpt from…
Expertise, Facebook, and Friendship
“The Good Death in Psalm 73.” Timothy Kleiser draws out the wisdom regarding mortality and human finitude in Margaret Edson’s moving play Wit with the help of Psalm 73. “Can…
Compliance, Bourbon Tourism, and Sequoias
“No More 'Normal.' How to Live after the COVID Apocalypse.” I reflect on the themes of our upcoming conference and Chris Arnade’s book in an opinion piece for the Pittsburgh…
Rare Earths, Canning, and Exhaustion
“David McCullough, Master Chronicler of American History, Dies at 89.” Glenn Rifkin remembers a remarkable storyteller who made forgotten aspects of American history come to life: “Working for much of…
Leftovers, Dumb Phones, and Waiting Tables
“Hoping for Doomsday.” I’ve been savoring the summer issue of Plough. Peter Mommsen’s opening editorial is, as usual, excellent: “In the interim of the ages, as the universe’s great Sabbath…
Illich, Finitude, and Authority
“The Corruption of the Best: On Ivan Illich.” Geoff Shullenberger takes the occasion of David Cayley’s intellectual biography of Ivan Illich to offer a reassessment of Illich’s thought. In particular,…
Sympathy, Weeds, and Brutal Friends
“How Foreign Private Equity Hooked New England’s Fishing Industry.” Will Sennott has an in-depth report on the ways the local owners and fishermen in New England are increasingly squeezed out…
Journalism, Poetry, and Play
“A Way of Life Being Lost.” Ruth Conniff visits Henry County, KY to talk with Wendell Berry and Mary Berry about rural America, the work of the Berry Center, and…
Seeds, Reality, and Eucatastrophe
“Syria’s Seed Planters.” Plough’s Summer 2022 issue on “Hope in Apocalypse” has many essays on this important virtue. One of the most moving, I think, is Mindy Belz’s account of…
The Regime, Progress, and the Last Battle
I'll be taking the month of June off email and, for the most part, the Internet. FPR will continue publishing essays while I'm away--we have some substantive essays on tap--but…
Fiction, Insects, and Baseball
“The Colorado River is in Crisis, And It’s Getting Worse Every Day.” In a beautifully produced, well-illustrated essay, Karin Brulliard journeys down the Colorado River and highlights the communities and…
The End of the World, Pawpaws, and Local Journalism
“Not That Brothers K.” Ken Sundet Jones praises David James Duncan’s brilliant novel on the thirtieth anniversary of its publication: “It’s about American angst, familial drama, and Seventh Day Adventist…
Christian Anarchism, Sigrid Undset, and Third Places
“Introduction to Christian Anarchism Summer 2022 Seminar.” Laurie Johnson is offering an online seminar exploring the tradition of Christian anarchism: “The five sessions will center on these themes: 1. basics…
Work, Time, and Seeds
“Christopher Beha Left the Catholic Church and then Came Back. Now He’s Writing a Book about Why..” Mary Grace Mangano talks with Chris Beha about his sickness, his return to…
Local Food, Hope, and Death
“Spring 2022.” The Berry Center’s spring newsletter has several good pieces, including Wendell Berry’s note of gratitude for the continued practice of local subsistence, in this case manifest during a…
Repair, Homeschooling, and Ownership
“Repair and Remain.” Kurt Armstrong shares some wisdom about fidelity that he’s picked up along a winding life: “for twelve years now I’ve had a hybrid operation, juggling a one-man…
Predictions, Literature, and Baseball
“Will Technology Enhance or Deplete Relationships?” Matthew Loftus draws lessons on electronic medical records and our broader use of technology from What is Not Sacred?, a book by the Tanzanian…
Disinformation, Friendship, and Beauty
“The Death Spiral of an American Family.” Eli Saslow profiles a family in Detroit who are at loose ends after the death of their patriarch, a man who had done…
Public Writing, Fences, and Neighbors
“Democrats are Kicking Rural America to the Curb. Again.” Art Cullen gives Democrats a tongue-lashing for their plans to change the primary schedule and give less influence to rural voters…
Scruton, Globalization, and Concentric Roots
“Scruton Makes His Case.” John G. Grove reviews a new collection of Scruton’s essays and finds that they display his optimistic “pessimism[, which] paradoxically leads us to fields of hopeful…
Suffering, Happiness, and Baseball
“How Tech Despair Can Set You Free.” In a rich essay on Jacques Ellul, Samuel Matlack faces the dangers of our technological society squarely and considers the possibilities for hope:…
Soil, Friendship, and Laughter
“Why Putin is no Hitler.” Daniel McCarthy warns against falling into wrongheaded patterns of thinking as war takes place in Europe: “Certain reflexes remain irresistible in Washington, not only among…