Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading Chesterton (and John Donne) but I’ve been thinking about paradox–and in particular how virtue is inherently paradoxical. Virtues often–if not always–require a negative, un-virtuous impulse in order to exist most fully and develop into their highest potential. That’s quite a claim, so let me back it up with a […]
The Paradox of Acquiring Virtue Read More »
In my last post I discussed the importance of form, but one way to understand that practically is by seeing how form directly shapes and guides our understanding of content. Take music, for example. For instance, there is a (dreadful) song by Taylor Swift called “We are never ever getting back together”. The lyrical content
Form, Content, and Human Connection Read More »
The backyard where our children play is covered in brittle, brown leaves now that fall is upon us. My wife had the genius idea of using a rake to carve a series of small ‘roads’ that snake in and out of the trees, and my two- and three-year-old boys absolutely love it. They spend hours
The Great Paradox of Form Read More »
The Shield of Achilles by WH Auden She looked over his shoulder For vines and olive trees, Marble well-governed cities And ships upon untamed seas, But there on the shining metal His hands had put instead An artificial wilderness And a sky like lead. A plain without a feature, bare and brown, No blade of
Poem of the Week: The Shield of Achilles Read More »
There is a writing assignment that I do with my classes (slightly modified) that involves studying a picture–really capturing a picture in your imagination–and then attempting to express that picture through writing, through words. Essentially, the assignment is designed to demonstrate the way language always involves some sense of loss; when we try to communicate
On Language, Loss, and the Fullness of All Things Read More »
A few days ago, after I got home from work, I took my 3-year old (Ransom) and 2-year old (Calvin) outside to the old, wooden swing-set in our backyard, which is, without a doubt, one of their favorite activities. It is also one of the few things they do in near-silence, so it is one
On Teaching – and Learning – to Love Read More »
I found an amazing book in my classroom recently–”The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology.” Despite the cheesy name, it really is a fairly comprehensive collection of mythologies from all around the world, and it has beautiful pictures to boot. My imagination was sparked when, beside a snapshot of an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph, I read the following
On Re-Mythologizing the World Read More »
“Recuerdo” by Edna St. Vincent Millay We were very tired, we were very merry– We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry. It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable– But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table, We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon; And
POTW: On Meaning in Poetry Read More »
A Footnote to All Prayers by C.S. Lewis He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow. When I attempt the ineffable name, murmuring Thou, And dream of Phaedian fancies and embrace in heart Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art. Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme,
POTW: CS Lewis, Limping Metaphors, and Groanings Too Deep For Words Read More »
Last week I had the privilege of attending the first annual CiRCE Summer Institute up in the rolling green mountains of Blowing Rock, NC. We spent the majority of our time reading and discussing (even singing!) Homer’s The Odyssey, interspersed with eating good food, conversing with friends new and old, and admiring the beauty of
Out of the Mouth of Babes: One Man’s Telemachy Read More »
