We asked Phil Christman, who teaches English at the University of Michigan and attends St. Clare's Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., to offer the top five essays he enjoyed most in 2017. Here’s his list:
- by B.D. McClay. A much-needed smackdown of a terrible book, but more importantly, a glimpse at what a Christian (or merely truthful) account of adulthood might actually mean.
- by Ezekiel Kweku. A masterpiece of sensitive art criticism by a brilliant writer who was one of 2017's many victims of News Website Does a "Pivot To Video" That Nobody Asked For Syndrome.
- by Mary Townsend. A fascinating book review that meditates on one of my favorite ideas: that intellectual and cultural life are too important to be left to the professionals.
- by Claire Jarvis. This is one of the most honest things I've ever read about new motherhood, from a writer who describes every sensation with terrible exactness and analytical rigor.
- by Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor. What can I say? This essay helped me keep going.