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Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 February 2008

June 2018

June 22, 2018

Poetry Friday: “I Loved You Before I Was Born”

In clear, resonate language, Li-Young Lee celebrates longing in his poem “I Loved You Before...

May 2018

May 15, 2018

Notes on Heresy

I haven’t any major gripes with the Roman Catholic Church. On the whole, I feel...

March 2018

March 12, 2018

Love Hurts in Phantom Thread

My favorite film from last year is a farce. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread functions...

January 2018

January 19, 2018

Poetry Friday: “Sometimes I Am Permitted”

On my first reading of this poem, I felt disoriented by all the non sequiturs,...

October 2017

October 10, 2017

Famous Last Words

Towards the end of his life, Winston Churchill famously quipped: “I am ready to meet...

September 2017

September 29, 2017

Poetry Friday: “Underwhelmed”

Put on your hiking books and grab your compass, magnifying glass, and shovel: this poem...

September 19, 2017

The Spirit’s Indwelling

Beside me this morning is a child at the breakfast table vigorously chewing a Fuji...

September 18, 2017

Parenting by Politics

The moment is freeze-framed in my mind: My eldest, Milo, red-faced with anger, his eyes...

August 2017

August 23, 2017

The Sweetness These Days

On the phone, he says, Your mother throws me over her shoulder and carries...

August 02, 2017

Rules for the Male Gaze

Once, in high school, a guy in the trombone section brought a Playboy to band...

July 2017

July 14, 2017

Poetry Friday: “The Human Share”

Here’s a brilliantly crafted poem which I love, even though it makes me a bit...

June 2017

June 30, 2017

Poetry Friday: “The Fawn”

Narrative poetry has its special challenge: how does it differentiate itself from prose? David Mason’s...

June 26, 2017

Practicing Presence, Part 1

The following two-part post was originally delivered as the 2017 commencement address for Trinity Academy...

March 2017

March 23, 2017

Love Nailed to the Doorpost

The commandment to love is nailed to my doorpost. Ritualistically written on a little piece...

March 10, 2017

Poetry Friday: “Grief Daybook: A Love Supreme”

It’s fairly common for a poem to be inspired by (or be in conversation with)...

March 08, 2017

Photos, Love, and Karyotypes

I recently found remnants from college and grad school genetics classes: karyotypes—sheets of paper with...

February 2017

February 13, 2017

Visiting Martin Luther in Minneapolis

A few weeks ago, I visited the Martin Luther: Art and the Reformation exhibit at...

February 08, 2017

Literacy Class: Learning the Language of Love

By D.L. Mayfield. This past week, I taught my last English class for quite some...

February 06, 2017

How To Arm Yourself Against Irrationality

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have...

January 2017

January 02, 2017

Poem for the New Year: “In the Candleroom at Saint Bartholomew’s on New Year’s Eve” By Heather Sellers

This poem moves me and impresses me with its sense of almost-but-not-quite arriving at connection....

November 2016

November 02, 2016

The Best Words: Selections from the Sex Tapes of Tremendous Male Poets

I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh...

October 2016

October 11, 2016

Art, Icons, and Ant Ovaries

“A world created out of silence gives itself over to prayer.” I’m listening to local...

July 2016

July 21, 2016

Poetry Friday: “Sometimes I Am Permitted”

On my first reading of this poem, I felt disoriented by all the non sequiturs,...

June 2016

June 24, 2016

Poetry Friday: “Daybreak, Winter” by Betsy Sholl

I have a complicated relationship with the sun, having grown up in southern California and...

June 07, 2016

A Letter To My Sister

Eve, my sister The one who took the fall Eve, my sister Mother of us...

May 2016

May 18, 2016

Passing the Possibility of Parenthood

Early one recent morning, I’m still half-asleep. The cat lies curled up between Craig and...

May 17, 2016

Grief and the Weight of Glory

The wind whips through the quilts and sheets on our clothesline, cracking now and then...

May 11, 2016

My Prayer Is Not Prayer

My prayer is not prayer, not exactly. It includes words. It may even begin with...

May 05, 2016

Evil’s Share

It has been said that one of the most effective means by which evil can...

May 02, 2016

Love in the Time of Bacteria

Last week, I walked up Dale Street from the train station. It's a perilous walk...