This reading list consists of some of the books on the original Cracks in PoMo Syllabus, and others that appear on the summer hotlist in the zine. 1. The Novelist, Jordan Castro: This is probably one of my favorite books to emerge from the so-called “autofiction” or “alt-literature” movement. It features a day (literally not even one full day) in the life of an aspiring writer, describing the minute details with a sense of both humor and reverence. Check out... Read more
They say you should take the zeal of a convert to a given religion with a grain of salt. Part of it is the honeymoon phase of their newfound beliefs. Their starry eyed condition blinds them to nuances and less than ideal realities that cradle-believers have come to understand with time. On the other hand, their beliefs tend to be mostly theoretical, as they haven’t had enough time to take root in their lived experience…to take on flesh and become... Read more
on Red Scare, our humorless age, and the Decadent/[Dimes] Trad Horseshoe if you’re interested in preordering a copy of cracks in pomo: the zine or in making a financial contribution, email stephenadubato at gmail dot com; if you’re in the NYC area, join our launch event on 7/28 at the Catholic Worker Maryhouse Disclaimer: I’ve been asked repeatedly to clarify my position on all things pagan/decadent/dirtbag/Dimes related. But first keep in mind, my “position” doesn’t actually matter. Only God’s opinion... Read more
if you’re interested in preordering a copy of cracks in pomo: the zine or in making a financial contribution, email stephenadubato at gmail dot com “Postmodernist theories of the social self have not explicitly acknowledged the religious implications of what they are about. But if you read them closely, you will see that more and more of them are talking about the human mystery in terms that resemble those of the subtlest traditional theologies.” -Wayne C. Booth Cracks in Pomo... Read more
The quest for certainty has more than merely academic interest. It also enters into the heated controversy over the public role of religion. Here again both sides often turn out to share the same premise, in this case that religion provides a rock of security in an unpredictable universe. It is the collapse of the old certainties, according to critics of religion, that makes it impossible (impossible, at least, for those exposed to the corrosive influence of modernity) to take... Read more
I’ll make this brief. Ron DeSantis and Donald J. Trump are two totally different [political] animals. Trump is many things: he’s a real estate tycoon, businessman, reality tv star, drag queen, camp genius, performance artist, decadent amoralist, actor, puppet, narcissist–but I would certainly not call him an evil or dangerous person. Certainly his presidency gave certain people license to do evil and dangerous things–I won’t deny that. But it’s hard for me to take any of the immoral or ridiculous... Read more
if you’re interested in preordering a copy of cracks in pomo: the zine or in making a financial contribution, email stephenadubato at gmail dot com With the exception of a normie remnant who has yet to be tainted by the cynicism of internet culture, we’re far past the point of Pride celebrations having any semblance of moral substance or, in the least, being “cool.” We can always count on neoconservative and religious reactionaries who have been there since Day 1,... Read more
So I recently spent an extended period of time around a group of trads who are very likely to find themselves somewhere along the higher functioning end of the Spectrum. This experience was quite frustrating, to say the least: their cognitive dissonance deeply disturbed me—partially because it forced me (a post-trad in recovery) to confront my own cognitive dissonance. A disclaimer: I’ve advocated for neurodivergent people who find the Tridentine Latin Mass and other forms of traditional theology, piety, and... Read more
*“There is a heightened excitement at these moments of fusion, reminiscent of Carnival, or of some of the great collective rituals of earlier days…[During] these times of collective effervescence…what is shared is something else. Not so much an action, as an emotion, a powerful common feeling. What is happening is that we are all being touched together, moved as one, sensing ourselves as fused in our contact with something greater, deeply moving, or admirable; whose power to move us has... Read more
A follow up to my article “There’s something queer about Andrew Tate” published in The American Spectator “Liberal institutions cease to be liberal as soon as they are attained: later on, there are no worse and no more thorough injurers of freedom than liberal institutions. Their effects are known well enough: they undermine the will to power; they level mountain and valley, and call that morality; they make men small, cowardly, and hedonistic — every time it is the herd animal... Read more
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