Current is a little magazine–and thus part of a noble American tradition (and you can listen to this conversation between Current editors Eric Miller and John Fea about what this means). We regularly celebrate our own writers and their essays and book reviews (see our 2024 Pushcart nominations, for instance, and our top 25 reviews of 2024), but today, we highlight our favorite essays of 2024 that were published by other little magazines.
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John Fea recommends:
Paul Kingsnorth, “Against Christian Civilization,” First Things
Kate Lucky, “Consider the Zoo,” Commonweal
Matthew Crawford, “Why Individualism Fails to Create Individuals,” Hedgehog Review
Matthew Walter, “The One Hundred Pages Strategy,” The Lamp
Mark Edmundson, “The Politics of Possession in America,” Liberties
David Masciotra, “Bruce Springsteen is the last American liberal,” UnHerd
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Eric Miller recommends:
Matt Stewart, “The Very Online Culture Wars” in Front Porch Republic
Heather Souvaine Horn, “The True Threat to American Retirement” in The New Republic
Alan Jacobs, “Family Matters”
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Robert Erle Barham recommends:
“Defiant” by Kate Hopper published in Short Reads
“Later” by Kate Lewis published in Short Reads
“Cracks” by Kathy Fish published in matchbook
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Agnes Howard recommends:
In The Point, Joseph M. Keegin, “Commit Lit”
In The Hedgehog Review, Mathew Crawford, “Why Individualism Fails to Create Individuals”
In Comment, Laura Fabrycky, “Motherhood and the Intellectual Life”
In Commonweal, Paul Griffiths, “Hearing Homilies”
In addition, a few substack recommendations:
Chris Gehrz, book on College for Christians, published in installments on his substack
Ted Gioia’s Substack, especially this on why the Cybertruck looks like something an angry kindergarten boy drew
The Raised Hand with Julie Durbin liberal arts education as adventurous pilgrimage, Brad East on praying in class, and Daniel Williams on college beyond career skills
Many pieces on B.D. McClay’s Substack, especially this on clothes, on publicity, and Salem, Massachusetts.
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Timothy Larsen recommends:
Drew Bratcher, “One on One” in Salvation South
Matthew J. Milliner, “Art Haters Anonymous” in Comment
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Dixie Dillon Lane recommends:
LuElla D’Amico, “Frog and Toad Might Just Be Friends… And That’s Okay” in Front Porch Republic
Kirk Wareham, “The River Reveler” in Hearth & Field
Sr. Carino Hodder, “Of Dragons and Other Creatures” in Comment
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Nadya Williams recommends:
Haley Stewart, “The Case for Not Sanitizing Fairy Tales” in Plough
Wendell Berry, “Against Killing Children” in Christian Century
James R. Wood, “The Autonomy Trap” in Plough
Ivana D. Greco, “Protecting the Home Front: Why We Need a ‘G.I. Bill’ for Homemakers” in Fairer Disputations
Thank you, Current! This list is worth bookmarking and savoring through deeper reads. I am again thankful for Little Magazines.