Arts & Letters
A selection of recent articles on this topic
Voyages to the End of the World
Francis Bacon dreamed of abolishing disease, natural disasters, and chance itself. He also dreamed of abolishing God.
The Cambrian Implosion
A historical moment ago, it was too obvious for words, but: Life is a blessing. So to…
Where Is God in The Lord of the Rings? (ft. Douglas Estes)
In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Douglas Estes joins…
Contained Controversy
To describe the shifting relationship between religion and art, we must use the broad brush. Judaism and…
Finding Private Roy
By the late 1970s, when I attended public high school in rural, blue-collar Central New York, more…
B. F. Skinner Is Back
In the summer of 1942, Arthur D. Hyde, vice president in charge of research at General Mills,…
In the Stacks
The stacks referred to in the title of this column, as you may have guessed, are made…
Madonna and Child
First Place — 2025 First Things Poetry Prize
Not Versed in Country Things
Second Place — 2025 First Things Poetry Prize
For the Finders of Bodies in Murder Mysteries
Pray for her now, the cleaner arriving at dawn, unlocking, humming idly as she dusts till a…
Staying Put
Late autumn dusk, the hock-cart drawing near, The time of year and day becoming one As all…
Weightlifting in the Underground
Harold, the protagonist of Jordan Castro's new novel Muscle Man, is a Gulliver who doesn't travel. Or…
Prisoners, Princes, and Exorcists: New and Notable Books
On April 23, 1975, Pope Paul VI appointed Nguyen Van Thuan coadjutor archbishop of Saigon in South…
The Question of Suicide
In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Martin Lockerd joins…
That’s How You Get the Girl
Yesterday, at 1 p.m. EST, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Instagram: “Your English…
