Culture

What to Read About Instead of Trump and Self-Help

I do hope you’ll find at least one title I mention worth looking into. Books about Trump and current politics? Nah, not interested. Continue Reading »

25 Aug 2023

Canon of the Word

by Ephraim Radner

One of the books that most influenced my moral and personal imagination was a small novel, Une vie de boy (“Houseboy,” 1956), by Ferdinand Oyono. An early novel by a great Cameroonian writer, diplomat, and civil leader, it made a minor splash on the French literary scene when it first . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2023

A Parallel Polis

by Inez Stepman

In a time when there is little cultural respite from the institutional advancements of the left, First Things is indispensable to the creation of the “parallel polis.” And your subscriptions and donations are indispensable to First Things. Continue Reading »

27 Jun 2023

Why We Need First Things

by Colin Moran

We need First Things because it makes possible the conversations through which God preserves and constantly regenerates culture and public life. Continue Reading »

21 Jun 2023

Fight with Style

by Micah Mattix

Style has always mattered, but it matters even more in our utilitarian age. Help us fight the good literary fight. Continue Reading »

19 Jun 2023

Gatekeeping for the Barbarians

by Justin Lee

The gates now exist to keep the barbarians in. Those who hope to recover the dignity of the city’s institutions must look beyond its walls for help. Continue Reading »

9 Mar 2023

Existential Slapstick in The Banshees of Inisherin

by John Waters

The idiotic, self-devouring cultural dialectic of Ireland since independence has ensured that its own damaged iconographies have blocked access to certain elements of the past, and therefore stymied present artists. Continue Reading »

3 Feb 2023

The Integrity of Poetry

by Micah Mattix

Last year marked the thirtieth anniversary of Dana Gioia’s Can Poetry Matter?, a follow-up to his famous 1991 article in The Atlantic. The article and book caused quite a stir. Gioia observed that poetry was no longer a part of intellectual life in America. It was not published in . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2023