by Jonathan Bennett | Humor
Continuing his reflections on the great meals of history and literature, Jonathan Bennett recalls a feast where appetite became an instrument of power. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin enjoyed his food. By the time of his death in 1953 he had grown stout enough that the...
by Jonathan Bennett | Humor
In this first installment of a series on the greatest meals ever (or never) served, Jonathan Bennett reconstructs a feast so vulgar that it achieved immortality. Written in the first century by Petronius, courtier to Nero and self-styled arbiter elegantiae, the...
by Jonathan Bennett | Essays
Forget “live-to-work”. The ancients believed leisure—not work—was the highest purpose of human life. In this essay, Jonathan defends self-cultivation through art, conversation, and exploration. “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a...
by Jonathan Bennett | Essays
Jonathan Bennett makes an unplanned trip beyond the Arctic Circle to Iqaluit, a city on the margins—equal parts capital, construction site, and reluctant frontier outpost. There are few places left in the world that still feel like frontiers—real ones, not the type...
by Jonathan Bennett | Essays
Wherein Jonathan Bennett avoids packing by reflecting on the weight—literal and spiritual—of unread books and overgrown libraries. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of too many books must, at some point, try to move house. That moment...
