Arts & Letters Daily » dwescott

Progress and poverty. The ideal of having enough – being comfortable

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:03:18 +0000

Progress and poverty. The ideal of having enough – being comfortable – used to hold sway, along with a belief that wealth increased poverty. No more… more»…more»…

Hair-bobbing, heart-breaking Edna St. Vincent Millay

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:03:06 +0000

Hair-bobbing, heart-breaking Edna St. Vincent Millay conquered Greenwich Village with her looks and lyrics. The greatest female poet since Sappho?… more»

Two cheers for paternalism. We are too fat, too in debt,

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:02:52 +0000

Two cheers for paternalism. We are too fat, too in debt, and too terrible at planning for the future to avoid rethinking Mill’s harm principle… more»

When did “bureaucracy” become a dirty word?

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:02:37 +0000

When did “bureaucracy” become a dirty word? Once it stood for the end of privilege and the rise of merit and rights. What went wrong?… more»

Why cursive?

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:01:21 +0000

Why cursive? Done well, it’s the pinnacle of elegant handwriting, a mark of sophistication. Too bad it’s rarely done well anymore… more»

The American character was forged by barbarism

dwescott — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:01:08 +0000

The American character was forged by barbarism, torture, murder, and massacre. Bernard Bailyn is ankle-deep in the bloody details … more»

Dexedrine, champagne, Antigone. Few actresses seemed to have

dwescott — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:13:36 +0000

Dexedrine, champagne, Antigone. Few actresses seemed to have less need for serious reading, yet Marilyn Monroe was all for the intellectual life… more»

War poets. The literary fate of those who survived World War

dwescott — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:13:23 +0000

War poets. The literary fate of those who survived World War I was little different from those who died in it. Consider Sassoon and Blunden… more»

There was a time when college presidents

dwescott — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:13:08 +0000

There was a time when college presidents did more than raise funds. They expressed views – resolute, edgy – about contentious issues… more»

Gone is the rigor of Montaigne. Today’s essayists are yarn-spinners,

dwescott — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:05:06 +0000

Gone is the rigor of Montaigne. Today’s essayists are yarn-spinners, tall-tale tellers, humorists parading as autobiographers… more»