Category Archives: The South

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

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

Protected: Myth Spr 20: Antigone

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Uncomely and Broken

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Posted in Bible, Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, Dogs, Drama, Education, England, Language & Etymology, Military, Mythology, Poetry, Race, The South | Enter your password to view comments.

“Et in Arcadia Ego” bench in Abbo’s Alley

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Uncomely and Broken

Given by Friends and Classmate to Celebrate Our Friendship with Thomas Carleton Ward C ’69 August 3, 1947- June 30, 1997 Quick Bring a Beaker of Wine So That I May Wet My Mind And Say Something Clever From Mary … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Education, Poetry, Sewanee, The South, Time | Leave a comment

Pulvis et Umbra

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

A final shot from Mine 21, a beautiful image of miners’ headlamps which flicker like stars about to go out. Nos ubi decidimus quo pater Aeneas, quo dives Tullus et Ancus, pulvis et umbra sumus. –Horace, Odes 4.7.14-16 When we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, Mythology, Poetry, Tennessee, The South, Time | Leave a comment

The Drunken Pat Argument

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

A fine piece by Adam Gopnik in this week’s New Yorker on Frederick Douglass indicates that there was tension between the movements to enfranchise women and blacks, with a remark on how anti-Irish sentiment was used by either side: [Elizabeth … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland, Race, Slavery, The South | Leave a comment

Protected: You have heard of Gettysburg, but does it haunt you?

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

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Posted in Cemeteries & Funerals, Family, Ireland, Military, Sewanee, Slavery, The South, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

Damnatio Memoriae Sevaniae

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

A year or so ago, I had an exchange with the United Daughter of the Confederacy about the monument to CSA General Edmund Kirby-Smith on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, where I teach. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, Emblems, Military, Race, Sewanee, Slavery, Statues & Monuments, The South, Time, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Protected: What’s in a Place-name?

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

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Posted in Drama, England, Ireland, Language & Etymology, Military, Sewanee, Slavery, The South, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.