Author Archives: Uncomely and Broken

Unknown's avatar

About Uncomely and Broken

I am a classicist in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Concerning the statue of Sir John Templeton

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Uncomely and Broken

It is not a particularly unique opinion to think poorly of the statue of Sir John Templeton at the Templeton Library at the far edge of Sewanee, Tennessee. Atlas Obscura calls it “eerily lifelike.” I suspect you could find people … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, England, Sewanee, Statues & Monuments, Tennessee, The South | Leave a comment

You Can’t Padlock an Idea

Posted on December 1, 2024 by Uncomely and Broken

“You can padlock a building,” Myles Horton said of the closing of the Highlander Folk School in 1959. “But you can’t padlock an idea. Highlander is an idea. You can’t kill it and you can’t close it. … It will … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Education, Race, Tennessee, The South, Time | 1 Comment

Ely Green on Archibald Butt

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Uncomely and Broken

Major Archibald Butt, whom I have mentioned a few times before on this blog– here and here— was a famous son of Sewanee, and so it is no surprise that he should be mentioned by another famous son, Ely Green, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Mall (an exercise in dactylic hexameter)

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Uncomely and Broken

To introduce my students to dactyls (-uu), I showed them a pair of famous examples in tetrameter: All the kings’ horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again. Picture yourself in a boat on a river withtangerine … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Poetry, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What the heck is this rock? Slag

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Uncomely and Broken

It’s been icy, snowy, rainy, and all kinds of wet around Sewanee lately, so unsurprisingly, the ground has disgorged a number of unusual items, one of which I came across as I was walking the dogs the other day. Google … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Thinking about Place

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

Landscape & Memory Myths History Forgotten Places Abandoned Places Sick Places Ruins Flooded—TVA (Tellico, Tims Ford) Archaelogy Liminal places Private Property Real Estate “Value” Domain Leasehold Lease Committee Built Environment Architecture Sports areas Parks Memorials Memorial benches   Geography Abstraction … Continue reading →

Posted in Sewanee | Leave a comment

RIP Stanley Crouch

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

Stanley Crouch came to speak at Sewanee in the mid-2000s as part of the “How Then Shall We Live?” series. Below is the author picture he sent. When I picked him up at the Nashville airport, he emerged from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cemeteries & Funerals, Education, Italy, Poetry, Race, Sewanee, Tennessee, The South | Leave a comment

Song to the Seals

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

Every so often you come across a charming thing quite unintentionally on the internet, and this morning’s entry for me is the great Irish tenor John McCormack singing “Song to the Seals” from 1935.     A sea maid sings … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Ireland, Music, Nautical | Leave a comment

Who’s ready for another marginal mystery?

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

OK, so my posts–here, here, and here–about the mysterious notations on the flyleaf of an 18th century edition of Cicero’s works have led to discussions with various and sundry folks that have been a great deal of fun. So, here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Classics, England | Leave a comment

Quake and Quarantine

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

So, last night, in the midst of the COVID-19 quarantine, we had an earthquake. At 3:33 AM. And, get this, it was 3.3 on the Richter Scale. It was only a few miles from our house, down in Lost Cove … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sewanee, Uncategorized | 2 Comments