The literary world lost two vital voices last week: author David Foster Wallace and poet/poetry blogger Reginald Shepherd. Kottke has assembled a comprehensive links list for DFW memorials, although you could spend the day trolling through the thousands of blog posts reacting to his death. You can read Reginald Shepherd's final poem, "God-With-Us," on his blog, and remembrances on The Valve, Samizdat and elsewhere. Emily Warn at the Poetry Foundation (where he wrote for the Harriet blog this past year) shared his poem "You, Therefore," which begins, "You are like me, you will die too, but not today."

Good Reading Elsewhere:

Earlier this week, Danya Ruttenberg, author of Surprised by God, liveblogged a rabbinic conference call with Barack Obama. Read more about the call at the Jewish Journal.

At YouthSportsParents, Mark Hyman posted some disturbing findings on the ethics of high school sports.

Baggy pants are no longer illegal in Florida.

A Kentucky court dealt a blow to gay families last week in ruling that second-parent adoptions are not permitted under state statutes. Read Nancy Polikoff's reaction on her Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage blog.

Recent Beacon Broadside Posts:

Contraception Foes With Friends in High Places

Sister Pact: A Bostonian Living in Europe Goes to Padua

A Dad's View of the Mommy Wars and Sarah Palin

Professor's Perspective: the Red Sox and the History of Racial Inequality

Sarah Palin: No Friend to Children and Adults with Disabilities