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
Learning to Read “the Book in Front of Us”
As the fall semester looms, the minutia of meetings and syllabi revisions threatens to drain the excitement from my impending return to the classroom. As a way of warding off…
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…
Mythical Mammals, College Libraries, and David French-ism
“More Than Mildly Amusing.” I heartily second Elizabeth Bittner’s recommendation of Mr. Mehan’s Mildly Amusing Mythical Mammals; it’s a children’s book that rewards re-readings, and the glossary combines wit and wisdom. “How…
What Are People For? Control or Love?
The arguments that Deneen and Shatzer advance are really two sides of the same coin; as one interpreter of Marshall McLuhan put it, “We make our tools, and then our…
A Hidden Life, Carbon Credits, and the American Solidarity Party
“Has Our Food Become Safer in the Last 10 Years?” Four experts discuss food safety regulations, consolidation, and local food systems for Civil Eats. “Starting Seeds.” Darby Weaver surveys some of…