> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.merionwest.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # AUTUMN 2025 - URL: https://www.merionwest.com/collection-i/ - Published: 2025-02-05T01:29:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T21:11:39.000Z - Description: The First Merion West Collection - Author: Henri Mattila - Tags: Collections [ ▸ Learn more about *Merion West.*](https://www.merionwest.com/join/) ## Letter from Editor & Publisher > Dear members and old friends, > Much like a person can eat fast food every day, so can their minds regularly consume content that offers a momentary pleasure yet leaves them feeling unsatisfied in the end. This must be why some call it the "media diet." > If you are a long-time reader, you may have noticed that things have been changing at *Merion West*. Given that we are some of the last people on this Earth to view change as inherently good by itself, we believe this to be a necessary step forward in the service of our mission. About a year ago during a team meeting, a newcomer asked what it is about *MW* that we love. His inquiry was understandable. Why have we continued to publish this magazine–including nearly two thousand articles–against our better financial (and occasionally, social) judgment for nearly a decade? > Although we did not plan around it, the reasons that emerged proved edifying. While no ethos can be reduced to a tagline, the spirit of our mission can be described as something like this: > Even if attention spans are getting shorter by the year and moral confusion reigns supreme, critical thinking and the truth still matter. Even though the media operates increasingly like a factory producing clicks and retweets, integrity in writing still matters. > Therefore, it is our hope that you will find this publication a welcome oasis apart from contemporary media, which serves increasingly more junk than substance. In other words, please accept our first of many attempts to serve you with a multi-course meal that will leave your mind elevated rather than confused, your spirits refreshed rather than cast down. > Over the better part of this year, we have prayed and debated, felt excited and discouraged, even suffered threats and made new friends. Therefore, we hope that you will enjoy this first Collection, which was made possible thanks to the labors of our talented writers and poets exploring timeless truths and witnessing beauty. > Thank you for reading with us. > With gratitude, ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/2024/12/sigs.svg) EDITOR & PUBLISHER ###### Featured ## [Year of the Plague: Jake Gardner and the Ghosts of 2020](https://www.merionwest.com/year-of-the-plague-jake-gardner-and-the-ghosts-of-2020/) Returning to a night in Omaha that rattled the nation, Matthew Chabin provides a different perspective of his old friend in the middle of the tragedy. An intimate meditation on the fragility of friendship in a black-and-white age, Chabin calls for understanding over condemnation. Featured Interview: [Senator Lankford's Timely Reminder of the American Ethos](https://www.merionwest.com/coming-soon-a-conversation-with-senator-james-lankford/) # Essays Personal & Reflective [ A Prison Love Story ](https://www.merionwest.com/a-prison-love-story/) Would you let your sister or daughter date, and then marry, an inmate? In this earnest love story, Antoine Davis shares how he, and other men in prison, find love against the odds. [ As I Think about Pope Francis ](https://www.merionwest.com/as-i-think-about-pope-francis/) Joe Weil, a poet, professor, and Catholic, reflects on the death of Pope Francis, what he loved about the man, and what he hopes the late Pope sees differently on the other side of this world. [ When Therapy Fails Artists ](https://www.merionwest.com/when-therapy-fails-artists/) As a challenge to conventional advice about rest and recovery, poet Nada Faris explains the importance of working amid suffering for those who derive meaning and inspiration from their craft. Shakespeare, Woolf, and Orwell did some of their best work in times of despair, after all. --- [ ▸ Learn more about *Merion West.*](https://www.merionwest.com/join/) Analytical & Literary [The Clash and the QuestIn this essay, Alexander Zubatov traces how the stories that fill the boundless canvas of Western canon are, in essence, reflections of two contrasting Homeric archetypes. Venturing beyond the literary, the motifs offer the frames through which one can interpret existence itself.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-17.png)Merion WestAlexander Zubatov![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-2.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/the-clash-and-the-quest/) [The Enduring Question at the Heart of Gone with the WindSadhika Pant revisits the 1936 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a book recently targeted for cancellation by certain activists. Pant suggests that Scarlett O’Hara and Ashley Wilkes represent two dueling approaches to living, and this dichotomy invites nothing short of civilizational questions.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-35.png)Merion WestSadhika Pant![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-18.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/the-enduring-question-at-the-heart-of-gone-with-the-wind/) [Engineering Morality in the Age of Driverless CarsOnce the realm of ivory tower thought experiments, the trolley problem is increasingly relevant in the real world as algorithms replace the human behind the wheel, argues philosopher Jimmy Alfonso Licon.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-23.png)Merion WestJimmy Alfonso Licon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-8.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/should-your-tesla-kill-you-or-other-people/) [Rousseau, the Letter WriterA new book by Christopher Kelly and Eve Grace explores the letters of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, including many previously left unpublished. These letters provide insight into the mind of the French thinker, a man whose ideas influenced revolutions and political thinking the world over.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-25.png)Merion WestChristopher Kelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-10.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/rousseau-the-letter-writer/) Poetry - [Summer in the Mountains](https://www.merionwest.com/summer-in-the/) - [Stealing Baby Jesus](https://www.merionwest.com/stealing-baby-jesus/) - [How to Write a Poem](https://www.merionwest.com/how-to-write-a-poem/) - [At the Cardiologist’s](https://www.merionwest.com/at-the-cardiologists/) [Explore other poems in the Poetry section](https://www.merionwest.com/tag/poetry/) ###### More from Autumn Collection [Visions of Hell: What One Man Sees in October 7thHow does a French filmmaker best ivory-tower experts and global intelligence agencies? In this interview spanning both geopolitics and moral reckoning, Pierre Rehov shares the insights—and warnings—that led him to anticipate Israel’s surprise strikes on Iran in June.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-30.png)Merion WestJonathan Church![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-13.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/how-one-man-understands-october-7th/) [What an Exiled 19th-Century Economist’s Letters Tell Us about the Tariff DebatePerhaps there truly is nothing new under the sun. Robert Rich revisits the writings of Friedrich List, whose pragmatic views on economics were eclipsed by classical orthodoxy but, amid today’s debate over free trade and American exceptionalism, prove surprisingly resonant.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-31.png)Merion WestRobert Rich![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-14.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/what-an-exiled-19th-century-economists-letters-tells-us-about-the-tariff-debate/) [The Supreme Court Takes a Welcome Stand against Reverse DiscriminationJonathan Church, a long-standing critic of the excesses of the critical social justice movement, examines how a recent ruling dismantles the legal double standard that required some Americans to meet a higher burden of proof in discrimination cases.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-33.png)Merion WestJonathan Church![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-16.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/the-supreme-court-takes-a-welcome-stand-against-reverse-discrimination/) [The Movement James Burnham BeganDavid Byrne, the author of a recent biography of the mid-century conservative intellectual James Burnham, traces the thinker’s influence on Goldwater, on Reagan, on Musk.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-34.png)Merion WestDavid Byrne![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-17.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/the-movement-james-burnham-began/) [Four Questions to Ask Before Using Artificial IntelligenceProfessor Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin, an expert on artificial intelligence, provides a four-point framework for thinking about whether or not to employ new AI technologies in day-to-day life.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/icon/MW-logo-small--1--2-32.png)Merion WestBenjamin Mitchell-Yellin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/bf/2cbf55d5-edac-4019-bf5c-bf6b4bf7d745/content/images/thumbnail/card_socialmedia-15.png)](https://www.merionwest.com/four-questions-to-ask-before-using-artificial-intelligence/) [ ▸ Learn more about *Merion West.*](https://www.merionwest.com/join/)