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Reflecting on the titles of Charles Darwin’s most famous books, Origin of the Species and The Descent of Man, the narrator in The Door-Man is drawn into a reverie about their inferences for the Tree of Life. He imagines the first book as celebrating the

As I inaugurate a new period of ruminating on things (see Rumination 31 for the early history…or Rumination 15 for a screed about ‘things’) and writing them up, I return to an observation by the protagonist Dr. Tom More in Walker Percy’s novel, The Thanatos Syn

This week I thought I’d write about one of our country’s great national pastimes – one that spans the centuries, gathers the family around its lush field of dreams, and courses through our very being. Now, those of you who don’t like sports or – more understandably –

As, once again, Thanksgiving greets us, I am reminded that “Thanksgiving” – the word and the event – appears three times in As It Is On Earth. No biggie there; seems like it should make an appearance in a story that has a bit of fun with New England Pilgrims. Now, I won’t

A doff of the cap to E.O. Wilson who’s book Consilience made a real impression a few years back…a respectful but negative one. In As It Is On Earth, Dean Alvah Frankel takes a page from that book. Frankel turns back to Miryam, his smile icy. “Consilience, young lady, what we cal