Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Writing My Autobiography

“Are you still writing?” he asked. “I am,” I answered. “What are you working on at the moment?” “An autobiography,” I said. “Interesting,” he replied. “Whose?” The implication here, you will note, is that mine hasn’t been a life sufficiently interesting to merit an . . . . Continue Reading »

Suicide of the Radical Right​

On May 21, 2013, the French writer Dominique Venner took his own life in front of the main altar of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Venner was seventy-eight years old when he put a handgun into his mouth and pulled the trigger. He left a note on the altar to explain his “gesture,” which took . . . . Continue Reading »

Antifragile Faith

On June 2, 1987, the National Enquirer published a photograph of Donna Rice sitting on the lap of Gary Hart. When, earlier that spring, rumors surfaced of an affair between the actress and the Democratic Senator, the backlash had been strong enough to end Hart’s promising campaign for . . . . Continue Reading »

Consolations of Middle Age

This past June I attended my daughter’s high school graduation. Observing the wrinkles, gray hair, and softening jawlines of the other parents, I concluded that most people weren’t aging well. A few mothers, hoping to escape these indignities, had been victims of aggressive plastic surgeons, but . . . . Continue Reading »

The Men Behind the Met

My grandfather died before I was born, and he remains to me a mostly mysterious figure. As is true of many people born poor who are committed to bettering their lot, his hours were taken up with work, family, and church; not much was left for that luxury item we call personality. A big man with paws . . . . Continue Reading »

Filter Culture Articles