Essay

In memory of Donald Hall

Yesterday, I was moving books around in the glass cabinets, and I took out Seasons at Eagle Pond, flipped through it briefly, and replaced it on a different shelf. Later that afternoon I found out that Donald Hall had died … Continue reading

Through a bomb-sight darkly

As the conference of geographers came to a close, and the attendees began to turn their attention to enjoying the Louisiana weather or checking in for their flights home, Donald Trump shot missiles into Syria. It was an eerie repetition. … Continue reading

The salt of the earth

Descending into the heart of a mostly-empty campus, and streaks of salt point the way in: they are dragging the same memories of winter across the ground as I am. The downward wash of the streaks meets and crosses the … Continue reading

The visitor and the stranger

On Monday, I woke up early and drove to the city where I grew up, where my family still runs a Honda dealership, to have the oil changed in my car. I made it there early, under cover of darkness, … Continue reading

The problems of the impolitic prophet

In eleventh grade, in AP American Language, our task for the year was to choose an author on whose work we would develop three essays over the duration of the course. Deciding which author to marry in this way was … Continue reading