Author Archives: Boz

Dear Jay and Gina: An Open Letter

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Boz

The five “increasingly savage paragraphs” of this obituary were published in the Redwood Falls [MN] Gazette on June 4. That same day, Stu @RandBallsStu posted it on Twitter. By the time I heard about it three days later on All Things Considered, it had … Continue reading →

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Ennui; or, The Cat Who Read Mallarmé

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Boz

La chair est triste, hélas! et j’ai lu tous les livres. [The flesh is sad, alas! and I have read all the books.]

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Graduation on My Mind

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Boz
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Yellow Fleas

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Boz

The end of Reconstruction in 1877 gave birth to the Solid South. In both Presidential and state politics, the South retained its essentially single-party identity until the passage of the Civil Right Act in 1964. During that time, Southerners would … Continue reading →

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Reconsidering the American Consensus–and Rehabilitating the 1950s

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Boz

The Mering thesis and the roots of consensus history At the University of Arizona in the mid-1970s, John V. Mering inculcated his disciples with a devotion to the consensus historiography whose bedrock was The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It … Continue reading →

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The Mother of Beauty: War in Words and Music

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Boz

For the past two years, I have immersed myself in a personal and professional commemoration of the centenary of World War I. For a freshman composition class I designed in writing across the curriculum, I have read extensively in the … Continue reading →

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My Journey to Easter

Posted on April 1, 2018 by Boz

Last year on Palm Sunday, the rector of our large, young, and vibrant Episcopal parish, St. Michael’s in Raleigh, announced–only half in jest–that we might want to consider attending the Easter Vigil on Saturday night rather than trying to find … Continue reading →

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Good Friday: Meditation without Words

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Boz

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, Arizona

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Love One Another–but Not on the Streets of Fayetteville NC

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Boz

I am writing this post during Holy Week, when Christians worldwide pray and fast and join together in humble worship as they prepare for the annual observation of the Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Today is Maundy Thursday, commemorated as … Continue reading →

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Miracles Do Happen–If We Listen

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Boz

Saturday, March 4, in Columbia, South Carolina, I witnessed what I can describe only as a miracle, the University of South Carolina’s performance of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS. By Monday, when I could not stop pondering–seeing, hearing, singing–those 110 minutes of capital-T … Continue reading →

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