Here’s what’s ahead in this edition:

• An August of ideas: my Cali­fornia origin story


• The slow lift: a discovery


• Links and recommendations: not toooo many


• Checking in: what’s Robin doing?

A personal email newsletter ought to be divided into seasons, just like a TV show.

Then it occurred to me: I could write a special essay every month and simply mail it to dues-paying members as a letter. It just clicked: We’re readers, we’re writers, we’re a new breed of independent scholars bootstrapping a new republic of letters... I should just write you... letters, to bring everyone off the computer screen regularly, to share... See more