Saturday Good Reads

Not long before we moved to St. Louis, rehabbers – posted by a state tax credit – began to rescue an area just south of downtown known as Lafayette Park. This was one of the first planned neighborhoods for the well-to-do, built around a park. The houses were constructed in the late 1860s and 1870s, and this was the “place to live” for several decades, until encroaching industry and a devastating tornado sent the neighborhood on a steady decline. Chris Naffziger, a photographer who’s dedicated to chronicling the architecture of St. Louis, has some photos that give you an idea of what the area looks like today.

Education stories are in the news, and not just about the confirmation of Betsy DeVos. In St. Paul, Minnesota, a school superintendent imposed a new policy about discipline – and the result was a disaster. In Connecticut, the costs of education are skyrocketing.

If you write fiction, did you know that you can now hire “sensitivity readers” to make sure you don’t unintentionally offend someone? Rod Dreher has the story, picked up from Slate. Mike Barnes at Strand Magazine has six good reasons to be wary of anyone’s Top 10 Writing Tips.

And we end with a video of Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus celebrating simple gifts.

Art and Photography

Breathtaking Views of Denali National Park – Ashleigh Schmitz Morley at Weather.com.

Up from a Dreaming Pond and All Creatures Great and Small – Tim Good at National Geographic / Your Shot and Pics, Poems, and Ponderings, respectively.

Park Avenue, Lafayette Square – Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina.

Be of Love – Susan Jones.

Life and Culture

No Thug Left Behind – Katherine Kersten at City Journal.

Connecticut in the Grip of the School Funding Fallacy – Manhattan Contrarian.

True Love is a Folded Newspaper – Laura LaSpalutto at Altarwork.

Writing

How to Develop Your Own Self-Study Writing Course – Ann Kroeker.

“Please Forge Manacles for My Mind” – Rod Dreher at American Conservative.

Top 6 Reasons to Beware of Top 10 Writing Tips – Mike Barnes at Strand Magazine.

Faith

F-Bombs and Bikinis: What It Really Means to Be a “Christian” – Preston Sprinkle at Faith It.

Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers – Hugh Whelchel at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics.

On the heart – Nancy Marie Davis at A Little Somethin.

Redeemed to Go: A Rescued Refugee Returns to Africa with the Gospel – International Mission Board.

Poetry

Come, Come Again – Lesley-Anne Evans at Altarwork.

The Virgin and the Museum of Natural History – Paul Willis at Curator Magazine.

Meditation and Contemplation: A Conversation with Luke Hankins – Curator Magazine.

Waking to Storm – Brendan MacOdrum at Oran’s Well.

Hard Kiss (A Found Poem for Valentine’s Day) – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

British Stuff

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey – Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition.

American Stuff

A Yodeler, a Painter, and Two Poets – Loren Paulsson at World Narratives.

Simple Gifts – Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus

Painting: Quentin Bell Reading, oil on canvas (1936-38) by Vanessa Bell.