I do have some sympathy with James’s hatred of ‘thought’ – by which he meant expansive theorising and philosophy – as I know from experience that speculative reasoning can sometimes be the enemy of determined attention to detail in antiquarian pursuits.
A very good review by Dr Francis Young of the new M.R. James biography.
But M. R. James was first and foremost an antiquarian; the last of the great antiquarians. The eclecticism was the point, and the ghost stories were part of that eclecticism.
Beautiful evening for a run with my son. The fall colors are starting to show. Nothing better
Finished reading: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Another remarkable novel from Towles; it’s the inverse in many ways of Gentleman but equally tender-hearted and wise. 📚
Finished reading: Axe in Blossom: Last Poems & Fragments by Franz Wright 📚
Hoping to one day write a history of terrible newspaper columnists entitled Vile Columny.
My new bedtime prayer:
News media makes me want to weep
Or lie down for a nice long sleep.
If I should ever have a take,
Lord, make me step upon a rake.
Amen
He is conducting a choir when he plays, no matter what he’s playing. In that sense, the notes are anthropomorphized; they are voices and the voices are alive, so anything he plays is imbued with a dynamism that I suspect surprises even him at times.
~Cécile McLorin Salvant on Sullivan Fortner, in a great little NYT profile (h/t Ethan Iverson) 🎶
Current listening: Oded Tzur’s wild new single “Sky River” 🎶
Current listening: Christian Sands, North Meets West Trio, featuring the excellent Thomas Fonnesbæk on bass and Rasmus Kihlberg on drums. It’s very good—Sands is brilliant, and Fonnesbæk is a bass virtuoso. I especially love their versions of “So Tired” and Jobim’s “Manhã de Carnaval.” 🎶
Current Listening: Sullivan Fortner Trio 🔗🎶
Current listening: Leave That In There by the Sullivan Fortner Trio.
Fortner seems capable of playing anything & everything in jazz. In terms of his own projects, I’ve especially loved Solo Game and Southern Nights. And his work with Cécile McLorin Salvant brilliantly complements her beautiful voice. Insaw the two of them at the Dakota in Minneapolis a couple years ago; It was unforgettable.
On this new album, what looks like a straightforward jazz trio winds up expanding to incorporate a wild range of keyboard & organ & even some vocal sounds. I’m looking forward to listening to this new album many more times—there‘s much to explore, & Fortner always rewards the exploration. 🎶
Massive, beautiful oak tree in front of the Collegeville Institute, St John’s College, MN
MinneEncounter 2026–27 at St John’s University
I’m honored to be one of the 2026–27 MinneEnounter Fellows through the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at St Thomas & St John’s Universities.
We’re entering day two of our opening retreat at St John’s, which is an amazingly beautiful campus. I’m looking forward to another day of conversation, learning, & reflection.
Currently reading: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 📚
I recently found & ordered a nice used copy of Auden’s For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio.
It arrived today; I was delighted to discover that it came from the library of the Anglican writer & priest Fleming Rutledge. 📚
Congrats to St. Paul’s Mark Dowdle, who won the 2026 Last Soul Ultramarathon after running ~390 miles over 4.5 days.
I cannot imagine a feat like that, but I’d love to run a backyard ultra someday. It’s a test for every entrant: how far can you go beyond what you think you’re capable of? 🏃
I’m keeping an eye on the Last Soul Backyard Ultramarathon (livestream here), where fellow Minnesotan Mark Dowdle is one of two remaining runners—they’re now on their 86th 4-mile lap. A truly remarkable athletic achievement.
Rise at dawn, and read something that matters as soon as you can.
~Take Arms against a Sea of Troubles by Harold Bloom
Challenge accepted, Professor Bloom. 📚
Currently reading: Take Arms against a Sea of Troubles by Harold Bloom 📚
A very sad report from NYT:
Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube, is now facing record lows, recently measuring just 9 inches deep in Budapest. Part of Italy’s mighty Po River is also at a record summertime low. And the Rhine, a major outlet for trade flowing from the Alps to the North Sea, is now shallower than at any time since records began.
~Ben Coates, “Europe’s Great Rivers Are Dying. The Continent Is In for a Shock.”