October 20, 2007
Dear Lynn, I haven’t met you yet, and yet,
Because of your groom’s frank and free oblations
In sonnet sequences or while we drink,
In permanent print or on the internet,
I write to share my cheerful approbations
For what I cannot know but may still think.
An age like ours forbids discourse on taste,
Either because it “don’t” sound democratic,
Or just because the sheer “ubiquitousness”
Of violence and vulgarity has laid waste
To standards; we stow our judgments in the attic.
But please indulge me. Let me tell you this, Miss:
If Ernie’s store of trivia, wit, and words is full,
As Plato says, it still took you to make him whole.
—James Matthew Wilson
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
A Culture of Parricide
I learned a new word the other day: déploration. It’s the French, directly from the Latin, for “lament.”…
Prime Rib of Unicorn
Of all the titles I’ve been tracking this year, the one I am most delighted to have…
The Real World of Francisco de Zurbarán
Throughout the summer, I visited the National Gallery in London at least once a week. This is…
