It’s been a very action-packed summer for Dan and for me. We each had a book deadline–not to brag, but I’ve met mine (it helps that all my primary sources have been dead for 2+ millennia, so I don’t have to travel to find them in various archives), and Dan is on track to meet his deadline at the end of this month. But before the school year commences, we are taking a brief breather, and The Arena will take a few days’ break as well. See you in a week!
I hope that your own summer is winding down well, but in the meanwhile, I’ll recommend just a few essays from Current‘s vault–essays that, I find, are a lovely balm, a delight to revisit. So, if you’re somewhat new(ish) around here, here are a few delights:
Tom Okie, an award-winning historian with a poet’s soul, has written several stunning essays here at Current–like “They Revel in the Wind,” about the beauty of tuliptrees.
Jon D. Schaff, a political theorist who has possibly read more Classics/classics than I have (and I’m a Classicist!), has written eloquently on a number of occasions on the value of liberal arts education–like this lovely exhortation, which is timely as the new academic year looms.
No vacation essay can beat this piece from Christina Bieber Lake: “At Large in the Porkies.”
But also, it is berry season, and Agnes Howard’s essay on this subject is simply beautiful. And I hope that her “Summer Anomie” didn’t totally get her down.
One thing I’ve appreciated about Current is the emphasis that the writing we publish must be beautiful (in addition to, of course, good and true). No other writer exemplifies the beauty of this writing as clearly as editor Eric Miller. See, for instance, his recent review of Jackson Lears, Animal Spirits. You can find the rest of his essays here.
As always, happy reading!