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I am interviewed about the movie Copperhead by the excellent Gerald Russello in The University Bookman.

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Why is Louisville’s unique Farm to Table program not being copied in other cities?  Here’s a national story you can pass along to your mayor, about Louisville’s matchmaker for food, Sarah Fritschner, whom I’ve written about on this site.

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The Academy of Philosophy and Letters will have its annual conference in Baltimore on June 7-9 on the theme “Cheerfulness Keeps Breaking In: Light in the Darkness.” Sharp readers will recognize the phrase as one of Russell Kirk’s, and Annette will be one of our speakers. Keynote speakers are James Kurth and David Schindler. Also speaking will be stalwarts such as Walter McDougall, Claes Ryn, Robert Young, Winston Elliott and others. Mark Mitchell, Peter Haworth, and yours truly will be representing the Porch. The full line-up:

Cheerfulness Keeps Breaking In:

Light in the Darkness

Annual Meeting of the

Academy of Philosophy and Letters

June 7-9, 2013

This year’s panels will continue the round table format that was introduced last year. Panelists will offer introductions, which will be followed by discussion among the panelists and members of the audience.

Friday

5:00-6:00 PM.  Registration

6:00-7:00 PM.  Reception/Cash bar

7:00-9:00 PM.  Dinner

Welcome

Speaker:  James Kurth, Swarthmore College, “The Great Debacle of Pseudo-Conservatism: Lessons Learned”

9:00-11:00 PM.  Hospitality Suite hosted by The Imaginative Conservative. 

Saturday

8:00-8:30 AM.  Late registration

8:30-10:30 AM.  PANEL/ROUND TABLE 1. Commentary on James Kurth’s Analysis of Pseudo-Conservatism

 Chair: Lowell Gustafson, Villanova University

Brian Mitchell, The Academy of Philosophy and Letters

David Jordan, The University of Virginia

Claes Ryn, The Catholic University of America

Walter McDougall, The University of Pennsylvania 

James Kurth, Swarthmore College

10:30-10:45 AM. Break/Refreshments

10:45 AM -12:45 PM.  PANEL/ROUND TABLE 2.  A Moral and Cultural Counter-Offensive

Chair: Richard Gamble, Hillsdale College

Joseph Baldacchino, The National Humanities Institute

Richard Bishirjian, Yorktown University

Jeff Cain, American Philanthropic

Annette Kirk, Russell Kirk Center

Bill Wichterman, Wedgwood Circle

12:45-1:00 PM.  Break

1:00-2:30 PM.  Luncheon: 

Chair: Jeff Polet, Hope College

Speaker: David Schindler, John Paul II Institute, “Christianity and the State of the Culture”

2:30-3:30 PM.  Break

3:30-5:30.  PANEL/ROUND TABLE 3: Independent Scholarly Journals 

Chair: Ryan Holston, Virginia Military Institute

Joseph Baldacchino, Humanitas 

Bruce Frohnen, Political Science Reviewer

Peter Haworth, Anamnesis

Robert Young, Modern Age

5:30-6:30 PM.  Break

6:30-7:30 PM.  Reception/Cash bar

7:30-9:00 PM.  Dinner

Chair: William Byrne, St. John’s University

A dinner conversation about Christianity and the state of the culture with

Chris Manion, Richard Gamble, and others.

9:00-11:00 PM. Hospitality Suite, hosted by The Imaginative Conservative

Sunday

9:00-10:00 AM.  Breakfast meeting of the membership (members only)

10:00 AM-noon.  PANEL/ROUND TABLE 4.  Reaching the Thoughtful Public

Chair: Brian Mitchell, Academy of Philosophy and Letters

Winston Elliott, III, The Imaginative Conservative

John Henry, Committee for the Republic

Dan McCarthy, The American Conservative

Mark Mitchell, Front Porch Republic

John Vella, Crisis 

Conference dress code: coat and tie

Interested parties should contact me at polet@hope.edu. I can give you information on the conference and hotels.

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You can find a short interview about education and my new book at Coffee and Markets here.

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A book I’ve co-edited with Michael Federici and Richard Gamble has just been published. It’s titled The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics: The Modest Republic. Here’s the description at Amazon:

The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics is a collection of thirteen essays from a broad range of scholars and independent authors, evaluating the prevalence of immodesty in various aspects of American life and culture. Contributors diagnose immodesty through the lens of corporations that are ‘too big to fail,’ consumption inspired by excessive greed, art and fashion that lack beauty and taste, government budgets resulting in perennial deficits, and foreign policy that meddle in the affairs of other nations. Going beyond mere diagnosis of societal ills, The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics provides a prescription for cultural impropriety: promoting a framework for the rejection of immodesty and greed in contemporary life.

And here are blurbs from Walter A.McDougall and Andrew J. Bacevich:

“The theme of the United States as a Republic turned Empire is depressingly familiar these days, but those who cheer or damn the imperial turn focus almost exclusively on war and diplomacy. Largely missing from the debate has been analysis of how the needs of empire can corrupt domestic institutions and culture. The authors in this provocative anthology succeed in filling that gap by asking not only what the United States became, but what Americans lost when their Constitutional, federal, more or less pious, and modest republic ceased to exist.” – Walter A. McDougall, Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, USA

“Citing eminent authorities ranging from Russell Kirk to Bruce Springsteen, this cogent collection of essays offers a bracing rebuttal to the militarists and imperialists seemingly intent on driving America into the abyss.” – Andrew J. Bacevich, author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War

The book is not modestly priced, so unless you feel the burning need to divest yourself of $57.79, check it out from your library.

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FPR’s Third Annual Conference is shaping up to be a fantastic event. It will be held at Pomona College on September 20-21.  The conference will kick off on Friday evening, September 20, with a screening of the new film Copperhead, directed by Ron Maxwell. The screenplay was written by Bill Kauffman, who will lead a Q&A session after the film. On Saturday, Dana Gioia will provide the keynote address at lunch. The theme of the conference is “City People and Country People: Being a Localist in a Megalopolis.” Morning and afternoon sessions will address various aspect of our theme, including the idea of a city, work, food, and philanthropy. A slate of FPR regulars, including Patrick Deneen, Jason Peters, Susan McWilliams, and Jeremy Beer, will be speaking along with an assortment of other writers and practitioners from the area.

Registration information is coming soon, but in the meantime, mark your calendars and plan to join us.

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Find out why here (thanks John Fea).

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The best thing to come out of Hollywood since….   well, maybe ever:  Ron Swanson’s Man Rules.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but #5 – “Grind it Out” – is an instant classic:

We have a certain amount of time on this planet. We weren’t put here to sit around playing Angry Birds and eating ice cream all day. That’s what you do at the end of a good, hard session of putting your shoulder to the wheel. I love this quote by the Kentucky author Wendell Berry: He says, ‘It’s sad that we live in a society that has the refrain ‘thank God it’s Friday,’ because that means you despise 5/7ths of your life.’ And there’s a good chance you spend the other 2 days drinking, so you don’t have to think about that asshole boss at work. Boiled down, the advice therein is: Try to fill your days with things that you love to do, and that includes not only work, but your family and your friends.

Jason Peters has obviously committed these rules to memory already, and is an especially close adherent of #9, “Listen to your Wife.”

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We’ve got some friends over at the Mackinaw Valley Institute. Take a gander when you get a chance.

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