How I Learned the Liberal Arts Were Important

I can remember the first time I knew for sure that something had gone wrong with the liberal arts. I had suspected some things were awry in our own public school district. Teachers and administrators didn’t like parents asking even basic questions about curricula. “Our focus in on critical thinking,” one principal said, “not rote learning.” Included in rote learning were penmanship, learning historical facts, memorizing multiplication tables, phonics, and just about anything associated with traditional learning. 

But it was when my oldest son’s sixth-grade English teacher sent a note home on some class activity that I knew. The note was filled with spelling and grammar mistakes. When I asked if spelling and grammar were still taught, I was given some vague reference to avoiding harming children’s self-esteem. 

 

We pulled the plug. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

What the BBC leaves out – Jack Flockhart at The Critic Magazine. 

 

Who was he? Read a remarkable Battle of Nashville letter – John Banks’ Civil War Blog.

 

The keffiyeh crew’s curious silence on Iran – Brendan O’Neill at The Spectator.

 

“Solitude,” poem by Ella Wheeler  Wilcox – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Why Contemporary Fiction is Bad – Lucas Smith at The Sprawl of Quality.

Poets and Poems: Amelia Friedline and "In Media Res"

It’s usually worthwhile to pay attention to the small things in life. Seeds. Ducks, Monarch butterflies. Tomatoes. The weather report (admittedly, that small thing can sometimes be a big thing.) 

Poet Amelia Friedline certainly pays attention to the small things. And she writes about them in a thoughtful and considered way. She’s assembled some 53 of them in her first collection, In Media Res. She explains her title in a footnote to the title poem. Translated from the Latin, it means “into the middle of things.” But it is also a narrative device to open a story in the middle instead of the chronological beginning.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Tuesday Readings

 

“Hymn Before Sunrise,” poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Malcolm Guite.

 

A New Year; A New Pantoum – Padraig O Tuama at Poetry Unbound.

 

Caravaggio – poem by Lisa Roberts at Society of Classical Poets.

 

“Incident of the French Camp,” poem by Robert Browning – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Cathedral – poem by Lauren David at Every Day Poems.

“Murder in the South of France” by Roy Lewis

The Morpeth Department of Antiquities and Museums in northern England faces a daunting challenge. An archaeological excavation team needs time to do its job properly, but the landowner had bulldozers, road builders, and construction crews ready to roll. The department needs more people and funding for the project, so Arnold Landon and his boss Karen Stannard head to a conference in southern France where they just might find the funding. 

The local police back in Morpeth have their hands full. A child’s torso placed in a plastic bag has washed up; a raid has netted several pedophiles but not the kingpin, someone called “The Doctor;” and the new assistant commissioner is more than anxious to nail a local luxury car owner, suspected of leading a car theft ring.

 

In Murder in the South of France, British author Roy Lewis has woven all of these disparate threads into a fine tapestry of a story, the 18^th in the Arnold Landon series. The only trouble is that Arnold Landon is once again something of a secondary character, at least as far as the police investigation goes, and the murder doesn’t happen in the south of France. (The book’s original title was Headhunter, which is less misleading but still a bit off.) There’s also less emphasis on the specific archaeology, which gave the earlier books so much of their character and feel and usually tied into the murder in some way. 

 

Roy Lewis

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Despite the difference from the earlier books in the series, Lewis still tells a cracking good story. And Murder in the South of France is a cracking good story. I have four left in the series to read, and I’ll miss Arnold Landon and his colleagues when I finish No. 22.

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Dawn Princess by Roy Lewis.

Murder in Wolfcleuf Woods by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at Abbey Head by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Murders for January – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

When All Your Stories Get Scrambled – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review on Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa.

 

The pseudoscience behind Britain’s open borders – Rob Bates at The Critic Magazine.

 

Orwell Saw This Coming – Charles Labe at The Free Press.

No matter the success

After 2 Samuel 11:1-27 

No matter the success,

no matter how great 

the achievement;

no matter the gain,

the accolades, the praises,

the success is not yours

or mine; the success

belongs to the Lord.

When you succeed,

give thanks; 

when you prosper,

give thanks;

when you accomplish,

give thanks. 

Do not think you did

it all, for you yourself

did nothing. The Lord

did it all for you.

It’s one of the lessons

we learn from the story

of Bathsheba. 

Photograph by Debby Hudson via Unsplash. Used with permission. 

Some Sunday Readings

 

Happy New Year. Choose Your Kingdom – Ray Majoran at Glimpse of Infinity.

 

New Year Snow – poem by Andrew Roycroft at New Grub Street. 

The Monk Bringing Orthodox Christianity to an Island at the Edge of the World – Huw Paige at The Free Press.

Saturday Good Reads - Jan. 3, 2026

In late April of 1945 in Czechoslovakia, a strange alliance was born. U.S. Army cavalry troops joined forces with soldiers of the German Wehrmacht to fight units of the German Waffen SS. The aim was to save 1,200 horses, including some 375 Lipizzaners, before the Soviet Army arrived. And Operation Cowboy pulled it off. 

A 23-year-old YouTuber named Nick Shirley went to Minneapolis and committed the crime of journalism, simply by visiting alleged day-care and home-health centers. The mainstream media, like The New York Times and CNN, were themselves outraged, not with the fraud uncovered, of course, but with the YouTuber. Then, Tony Dokoupil, the new anchor for CBS News posted a video statement that predictably shocked the news media: Don’t just trust me. Make me earn it.

 

Wendell Berry once asked the question, “What are people for?” It’s a question that challenges all the isms – capitalism, socialism, communism. They have their answers, but they all ultimately fail to answer it, or distort the answer. Andy Petro at Front Porch Republic is still asking Berry’s question.

 

More Good Reads

 

America 250

 

A Journey North: Jefferson, Madsion, and the Forging of a Friendship by Louis Masur– review at Journal of the American Revolution. 

 

The Crossing: The Revolution at River’s Edge – Charlton Allen at American Thinker.

 

The Battle of Quebec – Andrew Lucien at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.

 

The Old Wagoner and the Beginning of the American Revolution – Roy Orrison at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.

 

Thomas Paine: Visionary, Founder, ‘Filthy Little Atheist’ – D. Dowd Muska at No Dowd About It.

 

Without George Washington, America Wouldn’t Have a 250^th Birthday – Victor Davis Hanson at The Federalist.

 

American Stuff

 

December 1944: The Medics Who Saved Thousands in the Battle of the Bulge – Brandon Wile at Military.com.

 

The 3 Keys to Reclaiming the American Dream – Ian Rowe at The Coolidge Review.

 

Faith

 

We Have Smartphones – Why Memorize Scripture? – Andrew Davis at Desiring God.

 

Why Women Are Going to Therapy Instead of Church – Laura Kleinschmidt at The Gospel Coalition.

 

Writing and Literature

 

“Sketches by Boz” by Christopher Mannerino – The Lamp Magazine’s winner of the annual Christmas ghost story contest.

 

Ten reasons to read great literature in 2026 – Henry Oliver at The Common Reader.

 

Inheriting Wisdom’s Mansion: A Review of An Invitation to the Liberal Arts by Benjamin Myers – Jeffrey Bilbro at Front Porch Republic.

 

British Stuff

 

Watch What You Say or ‘Two Tier Keir’ Might Put You Away – Louise Perry at The Wall Street Journal (gift article unlocked).

 

Poetry

 

“Wild Bells,” from In Memoriam by Alfred Lord Tennyson – Malcolm Guite.

 

“For the Time Being,” poem by W.H. Auden – Kelly Keller aa On the Common.

 

New Year Games – poem by Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

 

Resolutions – Alexander Fayne.

 

“Now Winter Nights Enlarge,” poem by Thomas Campion – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Was-Land – Jeff Johnson

 

Painting: Portrait of Marianne Langham, oil on panel by Jacques-Laurent Agasse (1767-1849).

Not a broken hallelujah

After 2 Samuel 11:1-27 

He was not where

he should have been;

he stayed home instead

of leading his army. 

He observed what 

he should not have seen,

the wife of another,

the wife of a soldier

at war. He desired

what he should not have

wanted, another man’s

wife, her husband away

in battle. He took what

was not his, no matter

how dazzled he was.

He dishonored another

man’s wife, he dishonored

the man, he dishonored

himself, he dishonored

his God. It was all

broken, but it was never

a hallelujah.

 

Photograph by Mahdi Bafande via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

The Resurrection of Our Deeds – Randy Alcorn at Eternal Perspective Ministries.

 

When Our Hearts Turn Cold in the Winter of Suffering – Lara d’Entremont at A Mother Held.

 

Fearlessly Walking with God – Brian Sudlow at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

What if Everything We Thought about the “Nones” Was Wrong? – Tripp Fuller at Process This.

 

The Long Walk Home – Kirsten Black at Faithful Paradox.

When It's a Thrill to be No. 2

During this past week, the Emerging Civil War web site has been posting its countdown of the 10 most read articles on its site in 2025. The articles are typically written by historians, national park officials, and other experts in the field of Civil War history.

 

Which I am decidedly not. 

 

But.

 

The site welcomes articles by guests, and you don’t need to be an expert or historian to submit one. The articles, however, are all peer-reviewed. 

 

In January, I submitted an article explaining how a family story told through at least generations about my ancestor’s involvement turned out to about as far from the truth as you might imagine. I’d been researching the Civil War and an ancestor’s role in it, for my novel Brookhaven, when I stumbled over what he really did and what actually happened. (The story turned out to be far better, and I stuck with it for the novel.)

 

My article passed the peer review committee and was duly published in January. And it turns out to have been the second-most read article on the site for 2025. 

 

You can read the article, “Research for a Novel Upended a Family Legend,” at the site.

Some Thursday Readings

“Christmas (1),” poem by George Herbert – Malcolm Guite. 

“O Christmas Tree!” (German folk song) and “Christmas,” poem by Henry Vaughan – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

“My Ghostly Father,” poem by Charles d’Orleans and “Recipe for a Salad Dressing,” poem by Sydney Smith – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Bluster – poem by Gerald Allen Barrett.

 

2025’s Top 10 – Poems for Persons of Interest.

 

“The Darkling Thrush,” poem by Thomas Hardy – Malcolm Guite.

 

Ring it in (a poem for a new year) – Seth Lewis. 

 

Fairer Country, Higher Ground, or Home – Rachel Hicks at Front Porch Republic reviews Home Songs: Poems by Sarah Reardon.

 

A non-fictional feast: The best of military history from 2025 – Patrick Caddick-Adams at The Critic Magazine.

 

Photograph: A page of the family records in the Young Family Bible.