Saturday Good Reads

The arguments about America’s founders aren’t really about the people who founded the United States, but about contemporary American politics (and power). And we haven’t seen the end of it, not by a long shot. So, it’s rather refreshing to find an article on why Benjamin Franklin, of all people, called for prayer at the Constitutional Convention. Franklin biographer Thomas Kidd has the story.

Scott Slayton has been reading the novels and stories of Wendell Berry, and finding some interesting things. 

Trevin Wax at The Gospel Coalition asks if we should pull the plug on cable news. Emina Melonic looks at the humanities, and while she writes about their uselessness, she’s addressing another question. Five architects tell the Smithsonian Magazine was is the one building they wish had been preserved. 

I’ve included two articles from Spitalfields Life, a blog written from London, and I could have included more. Its owner, known as The Gentle Author on Twitter, writes consistently with style, knowledge, and understanding. It is an effort of love.

And British singer Joe Cocker sings a love song to French actress Catherine Deneuve.

Writing and Literature

Bad Apple Pie – Ann Wess at Appalachian Ink.

Following Jesus in Port William – Scott Slayton.

The Best Way Writers Let Go and Get to Work – Mick Silva.

If a Writing Nemesis Holds You Back, It’s Times to be Free – Ann Kroeker.

Faith

Why Benjamin Franklin Called for Prayer at the Constitutional Convention – Thomas Kidd at the Gospel Coalition.

Free to Love – Erik Raymond at The Gospel Coalition.

Life and Culture

The Best Quotes from 12 Ways Your iPhone is Changing You – Scott Slayton.

The Uselessness of the Humanities – Emina Melonic at The Imaginative Conservative.

Should We Pull the Plug on Cable News? – Trevin Wax at The Gospel Coalition.

Why Our Civil Discourse is Broken – Annie Holmquist at The Imaginative Conservative.

I moved from a blue state to a red state and it changed my life - Leah Singer at USA Today.

Poetry

Learning the Math – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Bonding – Lise at All the Words

British Stuff

The Forgotten Corners of Old London and James Leman, Silk Designer – Spitalfields Life.

American Stuff

Five Architects on the One Building They Wish Had Been Preserved – Smithsonian Magazine.

Art and Photography

Dew – Tim Good.

Seasons – Susan Etole.

Living with Sheep – Jack Baumgartner at The School of the Transfer of Energy.

Joe Cocker: Noubliez Jamais

Painting: The Reader, oil on canvas by Federico Zandomeneghi (1841).