News from the Front Porch Republic
Greetings from the Porch,
One of the joys of moving to a new place is discovering its flora and fauna. I'm sure this will be an ongoing process, but we've already enjoyed watching the pink "turtlehead" or Chelone bloom in our backyard.
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In this week's Water Dipper, I recommend essays about the importance of place in politics, washing dishes, and growing hybrid rye.
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Tim Vanable writes in praise of the humble front stoop. The stoop is neither an architectural adornment nor a fleeting trend; it is a central social locus for the people of New York.
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Elias Crim reviews On Common Ground. He argues that Community Land Trusts, at their best, are less about development and more about stewardship, creating just places for the long-term. CLTs are thus the ultimate preservationists, the developer/landowner who never abandons the property.
What's on the docket for next week? A review of the new movie The Green Knight, a consideration of Suzanne Simard's latest book, and a nuanced account of how we might distinguish between technological nostalgia and technological faithfulness.
I've been perusing Paul Willis's new book of poetry, Somewhere to Follow. I've long enjoyed Paul's writing, in part because he knows and writes about one of my favorite places---North Cascades National Park. He also has a fine sense of humor, which you can appreciate in his poem "Technical Condo":
The barbecue on the balcony
almost exploded at my touch,
though I did get the woodstove
working on the third try.One look at the directions
for the remotes to the DVD,
the television, the stereo,
and I turned tail.And the microwave,
with its panel of options,
convinced me to eat my turkey cold.Even the lockbox on the door,
with its combination and hidden levers,
is enough to keep me standing
outside with the stars.It is strangely beautiful out here, no instructions needed
for the light to ravel all this way.---Mammouth Lakes, California