In some quarters of American life, evangelical Christians are viewed as fearful and xenophobic—afraid of “the other.” Perhaps in a few cases, which happen to make the news. But in fact, US evangelical churches are refugees’ best friend. If anyone looks fearful and xenophobic, it is the federal government and its broken immigration policies.    […]

Pen and ink studies of a dove found dead after a storm.

This ease of access is in itself a blessing, but its misuse can make it a curse. We are all of us tempted to read more poetry and fiction, look at more pictures, listen to more music than we can possibly respond to properly, and the consequence of such over-indulgence is not a cultured mind […]

Once aroused, the urge to violence triggers certain physical changes that prepare men’s bodies for battle. This set toward violence lingers on; it should not be regarded as a simple reflex that ceases with the removal of the initial stimulus… it is more difficult to quell an impulse toward violence than to rouse it, especially […]

I drew a picture of a man with a hat.

Virgil Has Departed, Do Not Weep Yet

(I put together a little academic-ish essay in order to be systematic with my McCarthy habit. I tried to keep it under 2000 words, which means it’s not as thorough as it could be, but it should hold water.) An Analysis of Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree As It Regards Dante’s Use of Allegory by Seth Wieck […]

A poem I wrote wound up in the liner of an album.

The Holiness of Hobbitry

Bernthal’s monograph demonstrates that the growing attention to religion in Tolkien studies has not only rectified misreadings of his work but also promoted deeper understanding of it. Discerning the holiness of hobbitry discloses that Tolkien’s Catholic sacramentalism shaped fundamental convictions about language, society, and human responsibilities toward one another and their fellow creatures. Belief that […]

Lena Dunham’s Inviolable Self by Alan Jacobs | Articles | First Things

I wait, with all the patience I can muster, for another Jane Austen. Lena Dunham’s Inviolable Self by Alan Jacobs | Articles | First Things

If art, even popular art—especially popular art—were simply a repository of an era’s wishes, to be matched beat for beat with its time’s psyche, it would not be art. It would be, well, a Comment, or an op-ed piece, with all the necessary fatuities of its kind. Adam Gopnik http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/four-kinds-of-opinion-pieces-i-will-not-read?mbid=social_twitter