Discipline and Desire

by | Oct 29, 2017

Some Permanent Things by James Matthew Wilson. Wiseblood Books, 2014. Paperback, 156 pages, $16.50. James Matthew Wilson’s first full-length poetry collection explores how we might rediscover “permanent things” in a time of distraction, disruption, and disposability....

Shining a Light on Dark Deeds

by | Oct 29, 2017

The Moral Imagination in the Mystery Novels of Sally Wright by Ashlee Cowles When it comes to fictional works of the moral imagination, fantasy novels tend to receive the most attention from critics who believe literature plays a vital role in the conservation of the...

’Tis the season!

by | Oct 25, 2017

No, not that season. All Hallows’ Eve approaches—a perfect time to read or re-read one of Russell Kirk’s Ghostly Tales. We recently posted The Surly Sullen Bell (along with Ex Tenebris) here, and there are more stories, links, and commentary linked at Ghostly...

Virgil, Guide to the Perplexed

by | Oct 22, 2017

The Aeneid by Virgil, translated by David Ferry. University of Chicago Press, 2017. Hardcover, 437 pages, $35.C. S. Lewis once said of Virgil’s Aeneid that “No man who has once read it with full perception remains an adolescent.” That was certainly true of my first...

Lectures on What Can’t Be Taught

by | Oct 22, 2017

Literature Class by Julio Cortázar. New Directions, 2017. Paperback, 280 pages, $19. The question of whether or not creative writing is something that can be taught isn’t a perennial one, at least not explicitly or directly. The American MFA program, with its tens of...