My name is Jake Meador and I’m the creator of “Notes from a Small Place.” I created it in January of 2010 with the goal that it’d be a safe place online to discuss ideas related to faith, place, and community. You can get a sense of what sort of space this is from looking at the posts archived below.
A bit more about me: I’m a 2010 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and currently live in Lincoln with my wife Joie. By day, I’m a para in a special ed class at a neighborhood middle school. By (some) night(s), I’m a clerk at the local paper. When I can find free time, I love to read, write, share a beer with a friend at Yiayia’s, Jake’s, or Lazlo’s, or watch a game of soccer. My writing has been featured at Front Porch Republic, The Run of Play, Books & Culture and Christianity Today.
Economics and Culture
Against Weirdo Capitalists – A rant about capitalism and consumption riffing off Eddie Izzard and Wendell Berry.
All Jobs are not Created Equal – A rebuttal to the common Republican line that would justify most anything by saying “but it’ll create jobs!”
American Culture as Voldemort, Maker of Horcruxes – Further thoughts on loneliness and disconnection in the modern, industrialized world.
Delivering McDonalds to Your Front Door: The Need for a Civic State – An attack on the reductionist tendency amongst Americans to view ourselves as either a) individuals or b) members of a political entity. What if there was another way to see it? That’s the subject of this post.
The Funeral Dirge of Western Culture – A critique of consumerism and materialism written after Black Friday 2008.
Gender, the Body and Sexuality
A Toast to Prudery - Originally a Daily Nebraskan column, this was my response to a fellow editor’s suggestion that I write a positive presentation of the Christian view of sexuality.
Nothing Behind the Curtain - A post I wrote shortly after I was the groomsmen in my best friend Matt’s wedding. It’s a reflection on marriage, joy, friendship and life in God’s world.
Protecting the Chastity of an Aspiring Pervert - An essay on modesty and the problematic ways that Christians often discuss it.
Rape Culture and the Question of Evangelical Culpability - A second essay addressing issues of modesty and specifically the issue of sexual assault and rape culture.
Land Use and Sustainability
A Consistent Ethic for Relating to the Land - This was originally a Daily Nebraskan column and was a follow-up to a previous post on sustainability. This attempts to reconcile the issues of sustainability and Christianity.
A Non-Scientific Case for Sustainability - An argument for sustainability that completely ignores the questions of human-caused climate change and instead pursues a more culturally-based argument.
Politics
Like a Communist Working for Wal-mart – Further thoughts on Christianity and law.
Religion
A Decade On – Something I wrote for the tenth anniversary of my conversion.
It’s not a relationship, it’s a religion – A bit of rhetorical cheek in the title, to be sure, but I’d heard that silly line “it’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” one too many times.
My Heart is Breaking, a response to Anne Rice – A post I wrote in the aftermath of Anne Rice’s announcement that she had quit Christianity “in the name of Christ.”
On Making Churches Safe for Introverts – A post I published recently about my attempts to fit into the evangelical church as an extreme introvert.
Tearing Up Our Yellow Passports – A sermon I gave for Reformed University Fellowship at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Soccer
A Vindication of Mercenary Footballers – What if we’re too harsh on the so-called “mercenary footballer” who moves from team to team and seems to be in it for nothing but personal glory and a decent wage packet?
On Clark Griswold, Ornamentalism, and the Greatest Player Alive Debate – There’s been a million such articles written, but this is my contribution to the Messi v Ronaldo debate.
Writings Published Elsewhere
A review of Emmanuel Katongole’s The Sacrifice of Africa – Published with Books & Culture‘s Book Notes.
A review of Bernard Schweizer’s Hating God – Published with Books & Culture‘s Book Notes.
A review of Adekeye Adebajo’s The Curse of Berlin - Published as an online feature in Books & Culture.
A review of Lisa McMinn and Megan Neff’s Walking Gently on the Earth - Published with RELEVANT.
Elizabeth Ham’s Elgiva, an historical review – Published with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Studies in British Romanticism.
Why Do We Work? Answers from Berry, Marx, and Sayers – Published as part of a blog tour promoting Terry Eagleton’s book Why Marx Was Right.
JAKE: You’ve mentioned Wendell Berry a couple of times in the categories for your blog. Because he has so many volumes of essays, which one offers the best starting-point?
Ken Myers, host of Mars Hill Audio Journal, interviewed Michael R. Stevens and J. Matthew Bonzo on Volume 95. They are authors of “Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life: A Reader’s Guide” (Brazos, 2008). Although I typically read primary sources before secondary sources, I am inclined to buy this book in order to develop an orientation in Berry’s heterogeneous writings.
Christopher – There’s a few different ways to approach Berry. Though they’re radically different writers, it’s something like approaching C.S. Lewis for the first time, except with Berry it may be even trickier. But if someone asked where to start with Lewis, what do you say? You could suggest something straightforward, like Mere Christianity. Or you could opt for one of the Narnia books. But what about the sci-fi trilogy? Or maybe you want to start them with Screwtape? There’s a ton of different options.
With Berry, he’s a poet, novelist, and essayist. Here’s my recommended starting point though:
1) For fiction, Jayber Crow is the way to go. Most of Berry’s novels concern a small fictional town in Kentucky called Port William. Though Jayber Crow was one of the final books, I’ve found it to be best intro because it gives the most history of the town as a whole. But Hannah Coulter, Fidelity, Remembering, and Nathan Coulter are all quite good as well.
2) For his poetry, Given and The Timbered Choir are my favorites. (Timbered Choir are poems he wrote for the Sabbath.)
3) For essays, a few options again: What Are People For? is my personal favorite. It’s wide-ranging and includes his excellent essay on feminism, the body, and the machine. That said, Life is a Miracle and Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community are both exceptional as well. For your particular interests, I’d also suggest The Gift of Good Land. Finally, he has two other major works, The Unsettling of America and The Way of Ignorance which I’ve not yet read but plan to.
Hope that helps! Berry has been huge for me in the past two years, so I’m always happy to commend his books to others!
JAKE: I appreciate the division of Berry’s writings and recommendations.
Were you aware of Michael R. Stevens and J. Matthew Bonzo’s highly acclaimed reader’s guide to Wendell Berry? Read the book description and endorsements here:
http://www.brazospress.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=0477683E4046471488BD7BAC8DCFB004&nm=&type=PubCom&mod=PubComProductCatalog&mid=BF1316AF9E334B7BA1C33CB61CF48A4E&tier=3&id=8AE3FECB30014CFDA0725448EF441815
Jake,
Thanks for your review of Where Mortals Dwell. Love what you’re doing on place.
best,
Jonathan