Articles
The Broken Balance
The poet Robinson Jeffers warned us nearly a century ago of the ravages to nature we now face
by Edward Hoagland
Passing the Torch
Why the eons-old truce between humans and fire has burst into an age of megafires, and what can be done about it
by Stephen J. Pyne
The Liberal Imagination of Frederick Douglass
Honoring the emotions that give life to liberal principles
by Nick Bromell
What Kind of Father Am I?
Looking back at a lifetime of parenting sons and being parented by them
by James McConkey
Rome’s Gossip Columnist
When the first-century poet Martial turned his stylus on you, you got the point
by Garry Wills
Shipwrecked
Like Robinson Crusoe after the storm, a daughter salvages what she can after her mother’s death
by Janna Malamud Smith
A Slow Devouring
Banter, beer, and bar food smooth a disciplined but difficult passage through Finnegans Wake
by Steve Macone
Departments
Editor's Note
Letter From …
Tuning Up
Poetry
Boarding: Hemaris thysbe
Joanie Mackowski
Maker and Collector: Frank Bidart
Langdon Hammer
Two Poems
Frank Bidart
Point of Departure
Commonplace Book
Book Essay
The Art of Literature and the Science of Literature
The delight we get from detecting patterns in books, and in life, can be measured and understood