Historically, to speak of gardening necessitates a subtle, but quite important, uncoupling from agriculture, summed up in the idea of beauty. From ancient myths to cave paintings and recorded literature, we know that the earliest... Read More

Why witches? What accounts for our Western fascination with women who hex and heal, summon demons and project power, eschew religion yet embrace religious iconography, live contentedly in darkness, anonymity, and seclusion? Most... Read More

The threat of war has long been the most persuasive tool of statesmanship, made the better if you occasionally back it up on the battlefield. Diplomacy has a place, yes, but the laws of the jungle are often the only rules that really... Read More

Of the many positive things to say about Buddhism, the most meaningful may be that Buddhists readily admit that life is very, very hard. By facing that fact head on, rather than denying or ignoring it, Buddhists can quickly get on with... Read More

While it is politically inconvenient at times, science is certainly real and deserving of respect. Not to say that science doesn’t deserve scrutiny. Like experts in other fields, scientists too often lack the humility to acknowledge... Read More

Call me Immigrant. In your country, I do the essential work to keep your living standards high, even as you jeer at me and pay me nowhere near the same dollars you do to your exalted citizens, for the same work. Of late, I am coming into... Read More

Turn backhand flips and sand wedges into polished gemstones of wit, and such fun, that we doubted you could pull it off, poet. The author of eleven collections of poetry, fiddler Ken Waldman also has nine original CDs to be proud of,... Read More

Grief won’t suffer fools. What and how we grieve is the truest thing we know about ourselves. What Catherine Owen mines from her experience of losing a young spouse to drug addiction is extraordinary for its sweep. Her depths come to... Read More