Saturday Good Reads

The poetry seemed to flow this week – and some wonderful stuff it is.

The national dialogue seems to be careening all over the place, and incivility is on the rise. David Rupert has a post on what to do when incivility grips a civilization. Jon Payne at Reformation 21 has a related post – how to recover godly speech in a culture saturated by profanity.

We’ve heard a lot about the Koch Brothers and their alleged undue influence, but not so much about Geroge Soros, who has undue influence from the other end of the spectrum. Stefan Kanfer at City Journal has some deep background on Soros – where he came from, and what motivates him.

And from a text by St. John of the Cross, Loreena McKennitt sings a beautiful song about the dark night of the soul.

Poetry

Observation makes a poem – Mary Harwell Sayler at The Poetry Editor.

Cachexia – Max Ritvo via The Academy of American Poets.

On the Occasion of a Wedding – Loren Paulsson at World Narratives.

The real deal – Lise at All the Words.

Every Creeping Thing – Jacob Polley via The Guardian.

Show Me You Are True – Julia Putzke at Altarwork.

Back when you were a country – John Sibley Wiliams.

Dave Bonta’s ‘Ice Mountain’ Published – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Life and Culture

How Trump Left Hollywood Out in the Cold – Todd Purdum at Politico.

Reporters flocked to a campus controversy but missed its surprising conclusion – Columbia Journalism Review.

What to do when incivility grips a civilization – David Rupert at Red-Letter Believers.

Connoisseur of Chaos – Stefan Kanfer at City Journal.

Planned Parenthood’s Most Misleading Statistic – Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition.

Researchers uncover vast numbers of unknown Nazi killing fields – The Times of Israel.   

British Stuff

The provocative maps that tell Britain’s history – Amanda Ruggeri at BBC (Hat top: J of India).

Burns Night: The battle over Scottish identity continues – Annalena McAfee at The Guardian.

American Stuff 

“My Little Old Sod Shanty on the Plains” – American Digest.

Writing

What Being an Editor Taught Me about Writing – Anna Pitoniak at Literary Hub.

Art and Photography

Beautiful Brick Box – Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina.

Faith

Words Matter: Recovering Godly Speech in a Culture of Profanity – Jon Payne at Reformation 21.

Should I listen to a sinner? – Tim Good at Pics, Poems, and Ponderings.

Dark Night of the Soul – Loreena McKennitt

Painting: Grace reading at Howth Bay, oil on canvas (1902) by Sir William Orpen.