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An Apostle of Literature

In the fall of 2021, a student at the University of Dallas asked me to give a tribute to Dr. Louise ­Cowan, one of the most famous faculty members at the university, as part of an event centered on remembering the dead for All Saints and All Souls. I had had no occasion to ­commemorate her when . . . . Continue Reading »

Truth, Reading, Decadence

After Harold Bloom died in ­October 2019, E. D. Hirsch told a story from the early 1960s, when they were assistant professors of English at Yale. They both had lived not far from campus, and Hirsch frequently spotted Bloom walking past his house and joined him for a stroll to the office. They had . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

The Republic of Virtue:  How We Tried to Ban Corruption, Failed, and What We Can Do About It by f. h. buckley encounter, 296 pages, $25.99 Something is rotten in the states of America. F. H. Buckley, law professor at George Mason University, believes patronage networks and crony capitalism . . . . Continue Reading »

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