Category Archives: Sewanee

A Visit to Highlander Folk School

As part of Sewanee’s new “Finding Your Place” program for freshmen, my students and I today went to the nearby site of the Highlander Folk School, the populist educational facility founded by Myles Horton in 1932 that helped to midwife … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Music, Sewanee, The South | 23 Comments

Remarks for “Foundations of Place” Panel

My colleagues, John Willis and Jerry Smith, have given better talks than I ever could about the historical situation of the University’s founding a century and half or so ago, and of course I always tremble to follow Jim Peterman.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Classics, Education, Emblems, Ireland, Language & Etymology, Oxford, Poetry, Sewanee, Tennessee | 5 Comments

Colonel Shaw and Some Anniversaries

One hundred and fifty years ago this week, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was killed during a desperate assault on South Carolina’s Fort Wagner while leading the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first all African-American volunteers corps. Perhaps you know about Shaw … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Education, Family, Military, New England, Poetry, Race, Sewanee, Slavery, Statues & Monuments, The South, Time | 2 Comments

A Day on Dimmick

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”  Thus says Rat to Mole in The Wind in the Willows, a favorite book of mine, as some will know. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Family, Nautical, Sewanee, Sports & Games, Tennessee, Trees & Flowers | 6 Comments

A Dozen Days Later

When I first heard about the explosions at the Boston Marathon, I scoured the internet till I found a live feed and called my wife.  “What!? WHAT?!”  We were both horrified.  “This was part of the reason we moved to … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Classics, England, Family, Language & Etymology, Military, Mythology, Poetry, Sewanee, Sports & Games | 2 Comments

Protected: Tiresias, Throbbing Between Two Lives

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Posted in Animals, Bible, Classics, Mythology, Poetry, Sewanee | Enter your password to view comments.

Stations of the Cross

It’s Good Friday, and in Sewanee that means that at noon a large cross will be slowly carried from the School of Theology to All Saints’ Chapel by various members of the university and community.  Following the Way of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Boston, Education, Family, Ireland, Oxford, Sewanee, Sports & Games, Tennessee, The South | 2 Comments

Behind the Times in Sewanee

This past Sunday morning, I went up into Breslin Tower here in Sewanee to watch the clock being re-set for Daylight Savings Time. Keith Henley, who has been overseeing the clock for the past two years and seems to know … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Nautical, Numismatics, Oxford, Sewanee, Time | 17 Comments

Protected: Quelle Heure Est-Il?

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Posted in Boston, Family, Sewanee, Time, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

The Unmoved Mover

About two decades fifteen years ago, my wife had given a brilliant talk on Henry V and, as a result, been offered a job at Sewanee.  One perk was that they would pay our moving expenses, and so it came … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, England, Family, Sewanee, Uncategorized | 4 Comments