Welcome to BOOKS AND LETTERS

It is perhaps one of the few uncontested beliefs that books and letters have been the bedrock of flourishing civilizations and thriving cultures. Certainly, that has been the case for the West.

“Until lately, the West has regarded it as self-evident that the road to education lay through great books,” wrote the editors of The Great Books series published in 1952. Additionally, “The tradition of the West is embodied in the Great Conversation that began in the dawn of history and that continues to the present day.”

Books and letters informed Medieval Scholasticism, shaped Renaissance humanism, inspired the Reformation, and drove the Enlightenment.

Those who have been involved in this great literary conversation are what Richard Weaver called language citizens, or what Percy Bysshe Shelley called the unacknowledged legislators of the world. In the broadest sense of the expression, we are talking about The Republic of Letters, an intellectual community that has spanned centuries and transcended geographical borders, connecting poets, historians, linguists, philosophers, and theologians in a network of correspondence and mutual refinement.¹

Alongside these mentioned, I believe ideas indeed shape culture, and that books and letters are the tools through which these ideas are forged and preserved. They are indispensable for learning, for dialogue, and for a shared pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. In other words, since books and letters are the cornerstone of civilization and culture, it follows they are also essential for human flourishing.

Today, our culture is fragmented, transient, and untethered from this great conversation, such that rational public discourse is nearly impossible. Because we lack a realized sensus communis there is an urgent need to recover this legacy. To rekindle any sense of thoughtful engagement in an age that is dominated by fleeting trends and digital noise will be no small task, but it is one worth pursuing.

BOOKS AND LETTERS is my attempt to participate in the noble tradition of the grat conversation and do my part to help recovery its legacy. I believe books are not merely to be read but to be engaged with, and letters—whether actual or figurative—should be written to converse with the past, critique the present, and anticipate the future.

BOOKS AND LETTERS explores the fullness of what it means to live as a steward of words in this modern world. Whether it is grappling with the works of G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, or Josef Pieper, reflecting on the enduring relevance of Greek philosophers and the Church Fathers, or simply savoring the tactile joy of a well-loved book, my constant endeavor will be to lead my readers to think deeply, communicate clearly, and live wisely.

Join the Great Conversation!

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Publishing Schedule

Crumbs From Our Master’s Table: Each day, I’ll post some theological soul food—not a sermon mind you—just a morsel of nourishment from the Bible. If’d prefer not to receive a daily post, you can navigate to your.substack.com/account and toggle off Crumbs From Our Master’s Table and receive a Sunday Roundup instead.

Paideia and Piety: Most Mondays, I will post thoughtful reflections on education that challenge the status quo. Although I’m not using precise definitions here, paideia can be understood as the right manner of education—enculturation. Piety, on the other hand, is the right mark of education—ordered loves.

The Stuff of Stones: Most Tuesdays, I’ll post some meditations on philosophy and culture. C. S. Lewis wrote that "Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered." I’m taking the title of this column from Richard Wilbur’s clever and charming little poem titled, “Epistemology.”

Literary Leaf-mould: Wednesdays will be for literary critique. Drawing wisdom from Tolkien’s notable essay, On Fairy-Stories, my approach to literary criticism here will be to not only strive toward enhancing the reader’s understanding and enjoyment of the story, but also to honor the author’s intentions as much as possible, seek to re-enchant the reader’s world with wonder and meaning, and by all means avoid over-analysis or the deconstructive annihilation of the text.

Write to Think: It's been said that “Good writing is clear thinking made visible,” and “If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.” These expressions emphasizes the indispensable relationship between writing and thinking. So, Thursdays posts will be all about the craft of writing—including the art of thinking.

Corkscrews and Cathedrals: Fridays you can expect some helpful book reviews. I’ll be leaning on C. S. Lewis’s approach, the one he explained in his Preface to Milton’s Paradise Lost: “The first qualification for judging any piece of workmanship from a corkscrew to a cathedral is to know what it is—what it was intended to do and how it is meant to be used…[until then]…you can say nothing to the purpose about them.

Rumbling Toward Heaven: ‘Rumbling Toward Heaven’ is taken from FOC’s short story, “Revelation.” It’s a reminder that there is a place where heaven meets earth, and it’s on that vast swinging bridge that all our virtues must be burned away as we find our place in grand procession rumbling toward heaven. It shouldn’t surprise you, then, when on most Saturdays I post a personal letter or essay springing from my Christian humanism, letters that tend to “lean away from typical social patterns, toward mystery and the unexpected.”

Because ideas have consequences and the truth of matters is best conceived in dialectic, I invite you to engage in the conversation by reading, subscribing, and commenting.

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About Scott

Scott Postma is Christian humanist who lives in the chimney of Idaho with his wife of more than 30 years. He has four adult children and more than a handful of delightfully rambunctious grand babies. He is the president of Kepler Education, teaches dual credit courses for high school students in partnership with Faulkner University and Colorado Christian University, and practices the ancient art of Tsundoku.

C.S. Lewis once said, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

If you're the kind of person who desires to cultivate the life of the mind, values the good, true, and beautiful, and enjoys reading good books-often with a pipe in your teeth and pencil in your hand-consider yourself among friends.

Why not join our our merry band of bards, bishops, and bibliophiles, students, scholars, and philosophers, and poets, preachers, and pirates?