The Barbershop
Places That Remember Themselves: The Erosion of Memory in an Unmoored World
There are still places that remember themselves. Whose inhabitants know them intimately and love them deeply.
More Articles in The Barbershop
Family over FIRE
What is the goal of life? Cultural messaging has tricked many of us into thinking it is wealth and status, or career advancement. For us, it is the project of our marriage,…
The Republic of a Restaurant
We sense that there’s more at stake in a restaurant visit than simply gustatorial or financial gain. Eating out, as Plato might have observed, is a chance to reinforce or undermine the…
The Cake of Many Layers: Walking a City through Time
To walk a place is to open the door to the possibility that you will grow to love it. With time, you could get to know it in an intimate way. Streets…
The Dignity of Craft: In Praise of Mortise & Tenon
Beyond writing about craftmanship and antique furniture, M&T explores ideas about human work in a technological age, work in the context of community, and the relationship between craft and tradition. Regardless of…
The This-ness of This Place: Introducing Belle Point Press and Mid/South Anthology
Raised in Eastern Oklahoma with roots older than living memory in the Natural State, we look forward to supporting new authors while connecting readers with the long thread of our region’s creative…
It’s Been a Fun Ride
Venus’s love for her sister, and Serena’s recognition of it, has also shown us the transcendent power of family, the possibility of forgetting the accolades and the worldly recognition and the desire…
Meditation in a Local Orchard
Do I know by pruning the tree, picking the apples, and eating them? Perhaps, Pickstock proposes, truth is what we find when we act in the world. Our true condition is that…
Against Fun: The Ubiquitous Specter of Youth Sports
More to the purpose of this essay, organized youth sports should challenge students to be dissatisfied with amusement or entertainment in their pursuit of excellence. Our culture is soaked in entertainment, the…
I Sing of Shoes and the Man
But the dark events of that afternoon have remained with me and have prompted a question that I have often wrestled with, fruitfully, I think, but never to a clear decision: Lacking…
A Rant Against Satellite Photos and in Defense of Starlit Skies
In our day, we cannot ourselves see the heavens; we can only see pixelated images of heaven produced by computer screens. In this respect, we already live in virtual reality.
Repairing the Rents of History
The real challenge is to make the wisdom of the past live in the present. Such work is analogous to sprouting a seed, playing a song, cooking and enjoying a family recipe.
Remembering Irving Petite, “Issaquah’s Thoreau”
Today the man described as “Issaquah’s Thoreau” is largely forgotten. His books have been out of print for years and the anniversary of what would have been his 100th birthday in 2020…
Load More