Salisbury Forum Nov. 4: God is dead? Maybe not

SALISBURY — The Salisbury Forum speaker series continues Friday, Nov. 4, with Anthony T. Kronman, a former dean of the Yale Law School, on “The Humanities in the Age of Disenchantment.”In a phone interview this week, Kronman said his talk would be provocative. American colleges and universities used to have a religious affiliation. Until relatively recently, “There was a close connection between the ideals of liberal education in America as traditionally understood and a presumed religious background in higher education.”Colleges were in the business of “training Christian gentlemen.”Kronman said that his intellectual and spiritual beliefs “are as far removed from fundamentalism as can be,” but that the current orthodoxy — which he described as “ruthlessly secular” — goes hand in hand with disenchantment in higher education.“I hear ‘God is dead — get used to it’ and I find the position really unattractive.”He plans to discuss his “modest theological proposal”: “To resurrect in some meaningful form the idea of God as part of a solid foundation in higher education.”Contrary to what some might think, Kronman says the liberal arts are not dead, at least not at Yale, where the Directed Studies program, which features an intensive Great Books curriculum, attracts some 200 freshmen each year.The program was established after World War II. Kronman doubts it could be started from scratch in today’s academic climate.“It would be very difficult to start a program that is so self-consciously Western.”Kronman will speak at Housatonic Valley Regional High School Friday, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. The program is free.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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