Jeffrey Bilbro is an Associate Professor of English at Grove City College. He grew up in the mountainous state of Washington and earned his B.A. in Writing and Literature from George Fox University in Oregon and his Ph.D. in English from Baylor University. His books include Words for Conviviality: Media Technologies and Practices of Hope, Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, Loving God’s Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature, Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (written with Jack Baker), and Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms.
Jeffrey Bilbro
Articles by Jeffrey Bilbro
Whose Nostalgia? Which Liberalism? Reflections on “Faith and Democracy in America”
Liberalism can be marked by the gospel and still be a political and cultural dead end. As Ivan Illich argued, corruptio optimi pessima.
Thomas Merton’s Contemplative Politics
Fifty years ago today, Thomas Merton died suddenly during a visit to Thailand. During the past few months, I’ve been thinking about the ways his life and writings speak both…
Port William, Front Porches, and Mobility
“A Clearing.” The Hudson Review published a new short story by Wendell Berry, narrated by Andy Catlett. “On the Front Porch, Black Life in Full View.” Audra D. S. Burch…
Sabbath, Membership, and Monopolies
“A Grave Climate Warning, Buried on Black Friday.” In the “news that isn’t news” category, Robinson Meyer summarizes the National Climate Assessment. It’s not a cheery picture. “Tallgrass.” Robin Wall…
René Girard, DNA Testing, and Turkeys
"The Evolution of René Girard.” In this excerpt from her new intellectual biography of Girard, Cynthia L. Haven synthesizes the key aspects of his one great insight. “Deneen Among the…
Amazon, Cities, and Farming Colleges
“Inhuman Communication: Søren Kierkegaard Versus the Internet.” Patrick Stokes draws on the Danish philosopher to gain insight into our digital media ecosystem: “According to Kierkegaard, … the media ― his…
Wildness, Attention, and Making Something
“Wild and Domestic.” Wendell Berry writes in Orion Magazine about this odd binary: "With only a little self-knowledge and a little sitting still and looking, the conventional perspective of wild…
Recycling, Flyover Country, and Reclaiming the Household
“Percy and the Persistence of Alienation.” Emina Melonic reviews Brian Smith’s Walker Percy and the Politics of the Wayfarer, arguing that Percy’s definition of the human as wayfarer has much…
Dirt Thick with Known Dead
While wandering in a used bookstore this summer, I picked up Donald Hall’s String Too Short to be Saved. I enjoyed Hall’s stories about his grandparents’ farm (the book’s title…
Washington’s Cheapest Fundraising Reception
Next week, citizens around the country will have the opportunity to vote in the most expensive midterm elections in US history. This depressing waste of money has been going on…
Parenting, Geoengineering, and Picking up Trash
“Corporate Progressivism.” Patrick Deneen reviews Darel Paul’s From Tolerance to Equality: How Elites Brought America to Same-Sex Marriage. Here’s a taste: There is a striking alignment between this progressive valorization…
Wolves, Russell Kirk, and Ex-Voters
“Politics as the New Religion for Progressive Democrats.” Emma Green reports on a new poll gauging voter engagement: “Religiously unaffiliated voters, who may or may not be associated with other…
Localism, Uncertainty, and Berea
“US Plan to Genetically Alter Crops via Insects Feared to be Biological War Plan.” Erin Durkin reports that “Government-backed researchers in America are aiming to use virus-carrying insects to genetically…
Wendell Berry, the USMCA, and Liturgy
“Wendell Berry’s Right Kind of Farming.” Gracy Olmstead interviews Wendell Berry for the New York Times. “Gardeners and Pilgrims: Reviving Place in the Christian Imagination.” Wilfred M. McClay writes a…
Leisure, Suburbs, and a Wild Public Square
“Magnolia Silos to Host Church Under The Bridge during I-35 Work.” Mike Copeland narrates a unique church’s temporary relocation. Having attended Church Under the Bridge, I can attest that it’s…
Conference Recap
Thanks to all those who joined us for a provocative and convivial gathering this past Saturday. Even though it wasn’t live-tweeted (or perhaps because it wasn’t live-tweeted), we had a…
Sabbath, Tyranny, and Democracy
“Evoking a Life of Shalom.” Allan F. Brooke II reviews FPR’s recent book Telling the Stories Right: Wendell Berry’s Imagination of Port William, concluding: Telling the Stories Right collects a…
Integrity, Cape Breton, and Nationalism
“Living with Integrity.” Comment Magazine has a new issue out that focuses on how liberal individualism has perhaps warped our understanding of integrity. Along with some excellent essays, it includes…
Messing About in Boats
In the nautical classic The Wind in the Willows, Ratty tells his new acquaintance Mole, “‘Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply…
Tangier Island, Anthems, and Wendell Berry’s Horses
“Restoring Appalachia.” McKay Jenkins writes about different ways that residents of coal-country are trying to grow food, make money, and restore the damaged ecosystem: “Making a living without coal means…
McCain’s Favorite Poem, Defending Chess Tables, and 1968
“How Civil Must America Be? Americans care about being nice. How do we disagree with our neighbors about guns?” Jacqui Shine visits Grinnell, Iowa, home to a liberal arts college,…
Learning to Distinguish between Demonic and Redemptive Technologies
In a recent essay for Christianity Today, “Do All Plants Go to Heaven?,” Abigail Murrish speculates that GMOs might be present in the New Jerusalem. It’s certainly an interesting question.…
Instagram, Silicon Valley, and Hunger Stones
“The Unlikely Activists Who Took On Silicon Valley—and Won.” Nicholas Confessore tells the story of how a real estate investor convinced California to pass a data privacy law despite the…
Conference Lodging
Those of you traveling from out of town to the FPR conference should be aware that the hotel will release any unbooked rooms on Friday, August 24th from the block they…