Looking for somewhere to move? Why not to a historic home? In today’s American Artifacts, James Taylor Foreman writes about his family’s decision to move to an old house in Jackson, Louisiana, and how their new domicile really roots them within their community. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you’ll find an essay suggestion from yours truly, recommendations from SCOTUSblog executive editor Zachary Shemtob, a review of Lena Dunham’s new memoir by Elizabeth Grace Matthew, and a Work of the Week by Dispatch member Ben Connelly.
For the site today, we have the fruits of the writer Lawson Chapman’s recent trip to Philipsburg, Montana, the inspiration for Richard Hugo’s 1973 poem “Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg.” That poem spoke of a community in decline—and Chapman went to see if that was still true. “I ask him if he’s familiar with Richard Hugo, and he smiles, saying everyone in Philipsburg knows about that poem,” Chapman writes of a man he met in town. “I ask him if he thinks it’s still an accurate portrayal of Philipsburg. He smiles kindly.”
