Jeffrey Bilbro
Website Editor-in-Chief
Jeffrey Bilbro is a Professor of English at Grove City College. He grew up in the mountainous state of Washington and earned his B.A. in Writing and Literature from George Fox University in Oregon and his Ph.D. in English from Baylor University. His books include Words for Conviviality: Media Technologies and Practices of Hope, Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, Loving God’s Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature, Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (written with Jack Baker), and Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms.
Articles by Jeffrey Bilbro
Care, Wisdom, and Neighborliness
“We are What we Eat.” Aruna Uprety describes the deleterious effects of advertising and packaged food on the health of children in rural Nepal: “The traditional practice of growing and…
Small Farms, Big Media, and Moral Societies
“I Tried to Prove that Small Family Farms are the Future. I Couldn’t Do It.” Sarah Mock published a long, thoughtful examination of the viability of the small, family farmer…
Cattle Ranchers, Vegetable Pickers, and Remote Workers
“Economists to Cattle Ranchers: Stop Being So Emotional About the Monopolies Devouring Your Family Businesses.” Matt Stoller argues that professional economists are stonewalling efforts to combat monopolistic price-fixing in the…
Dirt, Words, and Xenia
“All Mod Cons.” Bill Kauffman commends the legacy of Senator Mark Hatfield: “A radical dispersal of power may lack the bellicose appeal of strident nationalism, but those who support fortifying…
Reparations, Trainings, and Forgiveness
“Land, Limits and the Scandal of Reparations.” Allan Carlson lays out the long and tragic history that has dispossessed so many American farmers---and particularly black ones---of the land. He concludes…
Local Culture 3.2
We have confirmed reports that copies of the fall issue of Local Culture are now showing up in mailboxes around the country. Depending on the vicissitudes of the USPS, yours…
Staying Sane in a Mad Time
How might we discern the truth in a mad time? Wendell Berry and G.K. Chesterton offer some wisdom.
Biopolitics, Good Work, and Roots
“A Case for the Porch.” Charlie Hailey writes in praise of the porch. Many of his reflections resonate with Patrick Deneen’s early essay on the name “Front Porch Republic.” “‘Biopolitics’…
Congress, the Filibuster, and Original Sin
“On Not Knowing Esperanto.” Peter Mommsen introduces the new issue of Plough. It’s a great introduction, and while I haven’t read the full issue yet, it looks to be another…
Regenerative Dairies, Hydroponic Gardens, and John Muir
“Ending America’s Antisocial Contract.” Ron Ivey and Tim Shirk warn that American policies which incentivize hoarding capital contribute to social and economic instability: “If our antisocial contract has led to…
2021 Local Porches
Last year, when we also had to cancel our fall conference due to COVID restrictions, several Porchers hosted smaller gatherings of local readers. We know that our readers are scattered…
Disinformation, Dante, and Humane War
“Bad News.” Joseph Bernstein scrutinizes the disinformation discourse and argues that its underlying technological determinism and assumptions about human persuadability stand to benefit big tech: “tech companies and select media…