Advent Memorial of St. Ambrose The Edge of Elfland Concord, New Hampshire Friends, I want to write to you today about an issue rather personal to me: depression. It’s an issue that is very present in the public eye, but I think it’s one that men in particular don’t often talk about. Yet, it is a problem that plagues men. The male suicide rates in 2017 were 3.5 times higher than those of women. But the reason depression is personal... Read more
Advent Memorial of St. Nicholas The Edge of Elfland Manchester, New Hampshire Friends, Today as we celebrate the memorial of St. Nicholas, I want to write to you about the Advent themes of hope and death. Hope In the current, Catholic, understanding of Advent, we spend the first half of the season thinking about the second coming of Christ. The readings all have to do with final judgment, with remaining awake for the day of the Lord. Yet, the first... Read more
Advent 4 December 2019 The Edge of Elfland Manchester, New Hampshire Friends, As I told you last time, I am beginning work on a book of poetry. As part of that effort, as I continue to publish in magazines and journals, I’m trying out different formats for my poetry as well. This is why I have begun doing readings of my poetry for both my podcast, To Wonder and to Wander, and my YouTube channel. Please feel free to check... Read more
Ordinary Time 27 November 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, New Hampshire Friends, Once again, I must apologize for not posting very often. My job as a full-time high school teacher, and as a father and husband, can leave little time for writing. However, I have a better reason for not writing here on the blog. I’ve been rather immersed in writing poetry. Over the last year, I have written somewhere around 50 or more poems. Some of them are... Read more
Ordinary Time 11 November 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, New Hampshire Dearest Readers, I’m sorry for the radio silence. It has been a busy semester so far. But I wanted to take some time to write about poetry. Recently, I finished reading Lyrical Ballads, but the 1798 and 1802 editions. For those unfamiliar, Lyrical Ballads was a book of poetry put together by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge only contributed 4 poems total, even when Wordsworth expanded... Read more
Ordinary Time 27 October 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, New Hampshire Dearest Readers, For the last six months my parish, Christ the King parish in Concord, NH, has been celebrating Mass in a tent. Our 150 year building has been receiving some much needed renovation. When we return in two weeks, it will have a new roof, new floor, new (to us) pews, and will be magnificently filled with beautiful art. I have been fortunate, since my wife works... Read more
Ordinary Time 26 September 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, As most of you know, I was recently at the Catholic Imagination Conference at Loyola Chicago. I had intended to write a review, further to the day 1 letter I wrote last Friday. But instead I want to write about writing itself. The conference––for whatever its faults were, and there were many excellent aspects as well––certainly did one thing for this writer, it helped reinvigorate my desire... Read more
Ordinary Time 20 September 2019 The Edge of Elfland Chicago, IL Dearest Readers, First and foremost, let me say thank you again to those who donated to help get me here to the Catholic Imagination Conference. Your money has, I believe, been well invested. Yesterday was the first day of the conference, though most of the day was spent in pre-conference conferencing. It was during the pre-conference time that many early career academics and grad students were given opportunities to... Read more
When I wrote about St. Edward’s School banning the Harry Potter series, I hoped this would be the last time for a while I would need to come to its defense. Sadly, a reader has brought something to my attention that, while I could ignore, I find needs some refuting. Read more
Ordinary Time 2 September 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, New Hampshire Dearest Readers, By now, you’ve likely seen the news that St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville, TN (a pre-K through 8th grade school) has removed the Harry Potter Series from their new library building. Thanks to reporting at the Tennessean, we know that the email sent to parents contained the following: “These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a... Read more
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