Jim Spates

Please describe yourself and your areas of interest.

When I encountered Ruskin for the first time in 1989, my life was transformed. I had finally found, through the assistance of a treasured colleague in English literature, an early sociologist who was not afraid, as most sociologists are these days still, late,,.alas, to say what things are good for human beings, and what things are bad for them. His works have been the principal guide for my life and the living of it ever since. A genius of the first order, he remains, unfortunately, much less known than he deserves to be. We still – and very much - need Ruskin, and whatever we can do to get others to recognize that and fall under the influence of what the great Boston bookseller Charles Goodspeed called, “the spell of Ruskin,” the better‼️

Why did you become a Companion of the Guild?

Revering Ruskin’s genius as I did and do, it made perfect sense to get as close to him as I could, and, hence, Companionship in the Guild and association with its continuing good works was a natural, not to say perfect, means of doing this.

Web link: whyruskin.wordpress.com