Uncategorized 1271
Daddy, Why are There Flowers?
I pride myself on answering questions. As a teacher I have the opportunity to answer many, and I try to do so with precision and completeness. But some questions are…
On the Nightstand this Week: Lear
A good recent Louisville production of King Lear sent me back to my handily small Yale edition to reread this most poignant of Shakespeare's tragedies. Its title character is the…
Localist Roundup: Alienation of Labor
This piece talks about the trend towards urban beekeeping, specifically in London. Meanwhile, this article worries about the shortage of farmers in America. At the same time, food prices are…
Lecture at Hope
West Michiganders: Michael Federici of Mercyhurst University will be lecturing on Hope's campus in the auditorium of the Martha Miller Center (10th and Columbia) this Thursday, April 17, on the…
What Do You Feel Like Doing Tonight, Angie?
Let's rent (or buy!) Copperhead, which is being released today on DVD/BluRay.
Jesse Winchester, Southern Regionalist, RIP
Jesse Winchester, a tuneful poet from a small corner of southern America who had to flee America--at a time when it was going through one of its more invasively imperial…
Localist Roundup: The Politics of Sprawl
This article makes an interesting connection between place and politics. Specifically, it claims that sprawling cities favor Republican politics, while compact cities favor Democrat ideas. Meanwhile, this piece examines an…
Irish Spring (’14 Issue)
From Notre Dame Magazine, the always excellent Jay Walljasper on the promise of the Front Porch.
Fathers and Sons, and Gardens
“The land provides the greatest abundance of good things, but doesn’t allow them to be taken without effort.” “Furthermore, the land also freely teaches justice to those who are capable…
Localist Roundup: Greed and Greens
This article attempts to trace the history and acceptability of greed. Meanwhile, this piece give an interesting perspective on the lack of moral framework faced by younger generations in today's…
Despair, Delight, and the Decentered Self
Berwyn, PA. The Fine Delight Interview Series with Catholic authors, conducted by the author of the book of the same name, Nick Ripatrazone, has just posted its latest interview --…
The Berry Center at Work
Mary Berry (Wendell's daughter, and an occasional contributor here) has founded The Berry Center to continue her family's work to buttress the economic well-being of small farmers, and the organization has pushed…
The Berry Center at Work
Mary Berry (Wendell's daughter, and an occasional contributor here) has founded The Berry Center to continue her family's work to buttress the economic well-being of small farmers, and the organization has pushed…
More on Distributism
This week in The Week, Michael Brendan Dougherty has a piece titled "The Conservative Case Against Capitalism." Relying on Belloc's An Essay on the Restoration of Property, Dougherty argues that…
Localist Roundup: Walkability and the Court
This piece reports a intriguing study indicating that walkable neighborhoods lower the risk of diabetes. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court made a ruling yesterday that loosened limits on campaign donations. And…
Pope Francis and Distributism
In an article at The American Conservative, Arthur W. Hunt III argues that the economic ideas touched on by Pope Francis point in the direction of distributism, a third way…
Hope for Peters
For those in the Great Lakes region, our own Jason Peters will be speaking this Thursday (April 3) in the Schaap Auditorium at Hope College. His lecture is entitled "What…
The Gift of Spring
“Nor would the stress Of life be bearable for tender things Did not so long a respite come between The cold and heat, and heaven’s indulgence grant This comfort to…
Localist Roundup: Berry and Francis
This interesting piece explains that small government conservatives (the author mainly has libertarians in mind, it seems) cannot work together with neocons. Meanwhile, Wendell Berry (and some others) will be…
Localist Roundup: The Cloak
This piece from The Economist attempts to argue that narcissism can be good. Meanwhile, this piece asks whether rural America is a thing of the past. Ostensibly, social media is…
A New Book on Place
FPR contributor Ted McAllister and Bill McClay have just published a collection of essays titled Why Place Matters: Geography, Identity, and Civic Life in Modern America. It includes essays by…
Localist Roundup: Societal Collapse
This piece offers some interesting data about the proclivities of young adults. Apparently, there are tendencies away from religious affiliation, political identification, and early marriage. Meanwhile, this piece invokes research…