When I was in graduate school, one of my professors had the habit of referring to that present time (the mid to late 70s) as “these late, bad times,” and many of us took up the chorus, seasoning our conversations with references to “these late, bad times.” We thought his assessment to be hyperbolic – he was old, and we were young, still preparing ourselves for the opportunities of work, career, vocation. Now that I am gradually approaching old age myself, I remember his use of that phrase with a different smile than I did 40 years ago, but it’s still difficult for me to characterize our present moment as “late, bad times.”
In this issue of Perspectives you will find poetry and prose written by several of my colleagues, members of the faculty of Calvin College. I want you to note the minds and hearts on display in these pages. Note in these late, bad times the voices urging us to slow down, to communicate more clearly, to reimagine the role of the sciences and to use our words more wisely. On the evidence they’ve provided, this is nothing like a late, bad time at all.
James VandenBosch teaches English at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Image: Stephen Norregaard/Calvin College
