“Grocery Shopping with Leonardo DiCaprio: On Time, Routines, and Writing”

An examination of why routines matter for writers. Published at Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies.

“Pullin Notes Out”

I’m often asked, What’s the best thing you’ve read recently? This essay agues the answer should more often be, Student writing. Published in Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Literature, Language, Composition, & Culture.

“Gently So”

A meditation on death, life, and a bucket of good earth. Published at Notre Dame Magazine.

"Proper Poetical Education"

My three-year-old asked me, “What does take a sad song and make it better mean?” This essay turns to Robert Frost to try to give my son an answer. Published at The Millions.

"Bones, Bones: How to Articulate a Whale"

In August 2020, I built a whale to hang in my university’s science building. This essay tells the story. Published at Longreads.

Selected as a Notable Essay in both the Best American Essays and Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023