Essays - Toby Rosewater

Essays

Toby Rosewater • 16th December 2025

The Color Photograph: Depictions of Violence in Moby-Dick

This creative-scholarly hybrid essay explores depictions of violence in Moby-Dick, weaving together literary analysis with personal reflections from my time working at a luxury aquarium store.

Substack • 14th December 2025

The Family Transmission

Written over a month in 2025, this piece traces the tangled roots of my Rosewater lineage — myth, memory, and reckoning — from the Civil War to the present.

Routledge & CRC Press • 7th October 2025

Preface. Teaching the Anti-Essay

I tell my story of overcoming dyslexia and finding my authentic voice with the help of many mentors.

The Amherst Student • 13th November 2024

D-Wade’s Divine Comedy and the Nameless, Faceless Man

A look at Dwayne Wade's new statue.

The Amherst Student • 23rd October 2024

Ben Simmons: On Hope and Basketball

A personal reflection on growing up idolizing Ben Simmons.

The Amherst Student • 2nd October 2024

The Day Bip Roberts Cried: Notes on the Athletics’ Last Game in Oakland

A melancholy tribute to the Oakland A’s departure from California.

The Amherst Student • 18th September 2024

Marcell Ozuna and the Character Floor

Marcell Ozuna is, by many metrics, a very good baseball player. However, he falls down dramatically on one key front — his humanity.

Substack • 20th April 2024

Hell in Denver: An Ode to Blucifer and Places People Don't Want to Be

The existential beauty and eerie allure found at the Denver International Airport.

Substack • 7th November 2023

Item Acquisition Fanfare: Isolation And Connection In Super Metroid

The emotional depth and sense of connection found in the isolating world of Super Metroid.

Dyslexia Help University of Michigan • 16th August 2023

Learning To Love Writing With Dyslexia

A personal reflection and practical guide on how technology and alternative approaches can empower dyslexic writers.

Substack • 5th May 2023

Tangled Up in Blue

An exploration of how AI’s triumphs in chess and writing reshape ideas of mastery and creativity.

The Syllabus • 23rd February 2023

Taylor Swift Crosses the Red Sea

I explore the cultural and religious resonance of Taylor Swift, delving into her evolution as an artist and her role as a modern-day icon.

Jabberwocky • 16th November 2022

Roy Halladay as Divine Intervention

The complications and context of Roy Halladay's perfect game in 2010.

The Syllabus • 18th April 2022

Aaron Sorkin, A Dead Language, And the Value of Moral Tales

Why Latin may still be worth studying.